


Superhuman

by SupernovaFries



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, But its here now, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, I donno when or if i'm gonna finish this, M/M, the sides are people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:55:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 25,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29385903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SupernovaFries/pseuds/SupernovaFries
Summary: There once was a boy with powers. Soon the boy found three other people with powers. The four superhumans became close friends, but a dark evil looms in the distance, seen by only one of them.Can the he warn his friends before it's too late, or will they be swallowed whole by the evil just out of reach?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Kudos: 3





	1. Somnium

**Author's Note:**

> Haha so I'm not sure when or if I'm going to finish this fic, but I have a lot planned out so I want to try to finish it.  
> Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy the ride ^^  
> (also, the chapter titles are in Latin, but I used google translate so it might not be 100% accurate)

Logan was five when he first used his powers for the first time, and he wasn't even aware of it. He had been born with superpowers, something every kid dreams of, but on this occasion, Logan's powers served to traumatize his small mind.

He was fast asleep in his simple blue and black room, right in the middle of a very pleasant dream in fact, when it happened.

\--vv**••~~

Logan was listening intently to the librarian reading him a story, something she often did as his parents would trust her to watch him during their library visits. Little Logan was happily sitting on the softest beanbag he could've imagined, intently listening to the librarian as she was reading. But soon the happy story being read to him turned into a twisted nightmare.

"There once was a group of four friends. They were the best of friends and they stuck together through everything; the amazing and the horrible," the librarian read, showing him the pictures in the book, though Logan couldn't quite make out any detail in the illustrations.

Turning the page, the librarian continued, "But one day, they were faced with a challenge that they thought they could never overcome." The librarian continued, but her voice seemed to dip an octave occasionally, warping unnaturally and setting Logan on edge. She showed him the picture on that page, and Logan could see this scene clearly. It was a drawing of a grown-up him protecting three people from... something.

"...anD thEy NevEr diD..."

Logan screamed as he was suddenly shoved onto the ground, which had opened up into the storybook's pictures, suddenly becoming a reality.

From where he stood, Logan could see his grown-up self and the people from the other page fighting through what looked like a horde of zombies.

They were quickly being smothered.

Logan tried to run over to them, to help them and to make this stop, somehow, but his feet wouldn't move an inch.

Logan tried to scream, divert some of the attention off of the older group, but he quickly found that couldn't scream either.

Then, the scene cut off, like the librarian was turning the page again to an unknown audience.

Logan tried to protest, but his vocal chords wouldn't make a sound.

Then the scene returned to him, only he and the other three adults had been captured, and they were all standing over him in a small circle.

"HELP!!! SOMEONE SAVE ME!!! THIS ISNT REAL! THIS ISNT REAL! THIS ISNT REAL!" Logan cried as the four adults started leaning over him more and more.

The figures tied some kind of string around him and just like that...

he couldn't see...

he couldn't hear...

...he couldn't breathe!

\--vv**••~~

Logan awoke with a start, choking on his covers and sweating like crazy. He quickly scrambled out from under his covers and realized he'd been crying in his sleep. Unlike most dreams, he could remember every detail of his nightmare vividly.

The bloody battle, the four figures leaning over him, and the string, deafening all sounds and blinding his vision in his final moments...

He shook his head and ran to his parent's room. They would know it's impossible. They would know it's not real.

He shook his mom awake, still crying and quite frantic. "What is it, Logan berry?" she asked when she finally woke up.

Even just thinking about it again, he broke down into hysterics, "Momma I had a nightmare.. there were these people, and me, but older, and we were fighting zombies, and we lost, and then they were standing over me, and then- and then-"

"Oh, my little Logan berry, come here." His mother sat up and picked him up onto the bed, hugging him and stroking his straight black hair soothingly. "Everything will be ok Logan berry. I promise, nightmares aren't real. They can't hurt you, I promise."

After a while, Logan slowly nodded off to sleep. His mom sighed and laid him down in between her and her husband, soon falling asleep herself.


	2. Amicitia

"Why was I born like this? I guess there is some purpose to it all, but that purpose should be clear by now, shouldn't it?" Logan thought as he strode to his first class of yet another day of high school. These kinds of thoughts ran rampant in his mind whenever he was alone, and they led him to the same conclusion every time: there's no reason for anything and he should just stop worrying about it. Yet, his thoughts led him down the same path every time.

Logan discovered that he had superhuman powers when he was in elementary school, and since then he was constantly questioning why he of all people would have powers like these.

The discovery of his powers was also the start of his habit of reading all day in hopes of finding answers in the hundreds of books he owned. However, by the end of elementary school, he had not only never found a concrete explanation, but he'd also managed to completely isolate himself from every one of his peers. Logan didn't mind it that much though, as he wasn't much of a people person in the first place, and the way he saw it, everyone leaving him alone was beneficial.

"Hi kiddo!"

Well, almost everyone.

"Hello Patton," Logan greeted the short boy who'd somehow snuck up behind him whilst he was lost in thought. Patton, despite everything Logan had tried, had stuck with him since middle school. And now that they were juniors in high school, Logan had given up on the idea of getting rid of the bubbly boy.

He did find enjoyment and comfort from the boy's company however. Patton could always pull him out of his thoughts, stopping them every time Logan was just about to spiral into an internal crisis. And for that, Logan was especially grateful.

Patton jumped up to hug him around the neck, grabbing his attention yet again. "Lo, you were about to pass your first period. Something up?" Patton asked, smiling at his tall friend.

"Patton please get off me. It's quite dangerous, for both you and myself," Logan said sternly, also hoping he had dodged the question Patton had asked him yet again. Whenever Patton caught Logan deep in thought, he would always ask what Logan had been thinking about. And always, Logan would refuse to tell him, since it was often that he was thinking about the nature of his powers.

"Aww.. fine," Patton sighed, letting go of Logan's neck and looking up at him again. "But you keep avoiding telling me what you're thinkin' about! You know I'm gonna get ya to tell me eventually, right Lo?" Patton asked, or more accurately, challenged, his companion.

"Yes, I know Patton.. I will tell you eventually, though it will not be anytime in the near immediate future," Logan reassured him. He really didn't like upsetting Patton by keeping secrets from him, but this secret was something that Logan was determined to postpone coming clean about for as long as possible.

After hearing Logan's answer, Patton nodded and grabbed Logan's hand, leading them into their first class, smiling widely once again. Logan smiled too, chuckling to himself at Patton's childish behavior. Logan could never bring himself to admit it out loud, but deep down he wished that he could be like Patton; always cheerful and smiling, funny, and willing to make friends with and trust just about anyone.

The sudden auditory stimulus that snapped Logan out of his thoughts this time was the bell for class to start. Logan walked to his seat, Patton doing the same, and he took out his notebook and mechanical pencil.

\--vv**••~~

Finally, the last bell of the day rang. Although Logan liked school and was a relatively good student, he was relieved to simply go home and read. That is, until he saw Patton approaching him in the hall with two unfamiliar faces just behind.

"Hiya Lo! Look who I just met! Their names are Roman and Virgil, and they agreed to come with us to get Boba tea today!" Patton explained excitedly, gesturing to each of his new friends as he mentioned them. Right, Logan had made plans with Patton last week. That fact had completely slipped his mind, and now he was aware that he'd have to wait another hour until sweet solitude.

Logan sighed. "Patton, are you sure they would want to come? Did you ask them? And did they definitely agree?" he questioned, noting that he sounded much like a mom questioning her hyperactive son. Patton nodded vigorously in response, and Logan looked to Patton's captives for confirmation.

He took this moment to study their faces so he could memorize them. One of them, Roman, had reddish-brown hair and eyes, and he was wearing a white t-shirt under a red "school spirit" jacket and blue jeans with black converse. The other, Virgil, was hiding under the hood of an oversized black and purple hoodie, and had black skinny jeans and purple checkered vans on. Looking just under his hood, Logan could also see that the boy had dyed his hair purple.

After the two confirmed with each other, the taller one answered, "Yes, we did indeed agree to your friend's offer! No one can pass up the opportunity to get food, right Virge?" Roman nudged the other, who pulled his hood over his head even more and nodded, "Yeah... we couldn't do that," he replied quietly. "Well I suppose it's fine then. Let's go," Logan responded, looking back to Patton to see his friend's already wide grin grow wider.

And just like that, Patton was dragging them all down the sidewalk to the closet boba tea café.

After the four arrived inside and ordered their drinks, they sat down in some nice chairs tucked to the side of the café and talked. Logan, although he was only half-listening, was processing some tidbits of the conversation. Well, really only Roman and Patton were talking; the other two were content to sit quietly and listen.

"So, how'd you two become friends? You're like complete opposites, even with your fashion sense!" At Patton's question, Roman smiled and slung his arm around Virgil. "Me and Virge have been friends since diapers! And you really shouldn't be surprised that me and Virgil are friends; you and Logan are about as opposite as people can be!" he responded with a smirk, looking between Patton and Logan, and although the smaller of their apparently new friends wasn't vocalizing it, Logan could tell that Virgil was curious on how he and Patton had become friends too.

Before Patton could explain, Logan chimed in, "Patton and I have been friends since middle school. I simply was alone and Patton came up to talk to me. We grew attached after that, and that lead us to our present friendship."

Hearing his response, Patton smiled the brightest smile Logan ever seen, the cause of which he believed could be attributed to the fact that this was the first time he'd called their bond a "friendship" out loud. And seeing Patton so happy, Logan couldn't help but smile back. Patton's smiles were infectious like that.

"Well, it sounds like you two were made for each other!~" Roman said quite suggestively.

When Logan looked back at him, Roman had an extremely smug smile on his face and was staring directly back at Logan. Virgil, on the other hand, looked like he was about to burst out laughing, apparently aware of the joke Roman was making about Logan and Patton. Logan didn't quite understand the implications, however, and simply tried to ignore the heat building up on his cheeks.

Patton was the first one to speak that time, "Well, everyone is made for someone!" Logan didn't understand what that meant either, but he nodded in agreement anyway, hoping that it was correct. Luckily for him, as abruptly as Roman had brought the topic up, he switched to a new topic, asking Patton about his favorite tv shows.

\--vv**••~~

Time seemed to fly by, and soon it was almost 6 o'clock. Logan had hardly noticed, engaging in an engaging debate with Virgil about doomsday scenarios through the last hour.

When Logan finally checked his watch and realized they had been there for two and a half hours, he was reluctant to let the others know in hopes of staying with them just a bit longer. But eventually, Logan's conscience took over and he let everyone know how late it was getting.

After packing up their things, they all left the boba shop together. But before they went their separate ways, the four decided to exchange numbers and all agreed to meet at school the next day.

"Maybe having some more friends won't be that bad," Logan thought as he turned to walk back home. That may have been the most fun he'd had since he'd discovered his powers. Realizing this, Logan couldn't help but smile to himself as he strolled back home, thinking about his newly acquired friends.


	3. Geminus

A few weeks later, Logan, Patton, Virgil, and Roman had become much better friends. They went to the boba shop every day after school now, and they planned their weekend schedules around meeting up. But while getting to know them, Logan had started to notice some odd occurrences with his new friends.

\--vv**••~~

First, Logan would see Virgil in two places at once, but when he checked again, one Virgil was gone. Secondly, Roman wouldn't let Patton touch his back. Ever. Patton begrudgingly accepted this, but for someone aquatinted with the supernatural, Logan wasn't quite convinced. Especially when Roman's explanation for his request was "I need to keep my clothes unruffled and the cloth on my back is especially susceptible." Logan thought that was a very weak excuse, especially for the actor of the group.

After a few more odd but not incriminating instances, Logan found Virgil in two places once again, and he got the chance to finally ask about it.

\--vv**••~~

Logan was walking through the hall one day to go turn in an attendance sheet when he passed by Virgil. He and Virgil greeted each other as they passed, but nothing more. They both had classes to get back to. But then Logan passed by Virgil's classroom and saw him sitting in his seat and facing the teacher. This would be another normal occurrence, but Virgil had been going in the opposite direction when they'd passed.

Logan quickly spun around to catch Virgil, and seeing as he hadn't disappeared, Logan ran after him. Virgil noticed almost instantly and started running away, not even looking back to see his pursuer's identity. Virgil ran fast, but Logan was faster, pumped up with the adrenaline of finally getting answers for the strange things that have been happening.

As Logan chased Virgil, he strategically shepherded him to a dead end in the school, and a place they could talk in private. Virgil didn't like rumors or speculation about himself, so he closed up pretty quickly anytime someone could be eavesdropping on him. But Logan hoped Virgil trusted him enough to explain what he'd just seen.

As soon as Virgil realized he was cornered, he spun around looking very panicked and out of breath. He looked at Logan as if he was a lion who'd successfully caught his prey. Logan had learned that when Virgil was like this, he wasn't thinking straight and he probably wasn't even registering Logan as himself.

Logan reached out slowly, trying to calm Virgil down, but the small boy retracted even further into the corner.

"..Virgil? It's me, Logan. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk," Logan said softly, hoping he could reassure Virgil enough to get an answer from him. Virgil stayed silent, staring blankly at a point past Logan.

He continued approaching his panicked friend, and this time Virgil didn't flinch back. Logan took this as a cue to reach out to Virgil and touch him, but the emo hissed at him as he tried. Hissed! He truly was acting like a cornered wild animal.

Logan didn't retract his hand however, and soon Virgil started to calm down from his manic state and realize that it was only Logan in front of him. His erratic and shallow breathing slowly went back to normal, and his panicked gaze turned into that of relief and recognition. Pent up tears came down his face from his complete and utter relief. He reached out and hugged Logan, releasing the tension he had built up.

Logan determined that once Virgil had calmed down enough, then he could ask about what he saw. "Virgil..? I'm sorry to have scared you, but I've seen some things that I believe require an explanation from you," he spoke calmly, but inside he was nervous and giddy to get the answers he'd been wanting for weeks now.

Virgil didn't say anything for a minute, breaking the hug and sitting down on the hard tile floor. Logan sat down next to him, still looking to him for an explanation. Once Virgil noticed Logan's stare, he looked away and sighed.

"...I donno how to explain this so I don't sound crazy..." he trailed off, his voice almost undetectable to Logan. Clearly, his anxious friend would need some encouragement to get the information out.

"Well, I can possibly make it easier for you. I can tell you my greatest secret if you tell me this. I'm sure I'd understand. I already have multiple theories, so I just would like some confirmation, even just to one of them."

Logan went on a rant, hoping to be encouraging, but when he looked back at Virgil, the small boy was shrinking more into his jacket. Quickly, he switched tactics, "...Virgil, I promise I will understand. I'm acquainted with the unexplained and supernatural, more than you know." Virgil perked up a bit at that, to Logan's relief.

"what's your secret..? I won't tell anybody, but that might help...so I know you're not tricking me" Virgil spoke carefully, offering a deal. Logan was a bit surprised that he was willing to tell Logan in exchange for his secret, but Logan knew this was the right time to tell Virgil. Virgil seemed to have powers similar to his own, and it could be a point of bonding for the two of them.

"I have not told anyone this, but in exchange for your trust and honesty, I will tell you. I have strange and unexplainable superhuman abilities, which is similar to what I believe you have." Logan stated matter-of-factly, quickly and concisely explaining what he had spent years of his life figuring out.

Virgil whipped his head up, a confused and surprised look on his face from what Logan said. Logan began to get worried that his most prominent theory wasn't correct at all and Virgil was simply a normal, emo, high school boy. But then Virgil's expression turned into one Logan could only describe as pure happiness.

The smaller's voice was still only a whisper, but Logan could hear the unfiltered excitement in his words. "Oh my god... there's others! It's not just me and-"

And just like that, Virgil was back to scared. "..And.?" Logan questioned, "You know another who's like us?"

Virgil stayed silent, and Logan took that as a 'yes'.

"Why do you not want to tell me who they are? You know I won't do anything rash, correct?"

"...yeah, but he asked me not to say anything...." Virgil finally answered.

"So the person is a 'he' then..." Logan muttered to himself, the metaphorical gears turning in his head. Once he was done processing the information Virgil had unintentionally given him, he got a small notebook and pen from his pocket, clicking the pen and turning to the first blank page of the notebook.

"Virgil, I am aware that you don't give out information readily, but I must ask you to write down your full name and powers so I may better understand your abilities. If you would like, I can do the same for you," Logan asked, handing the notebook to Virgil. Virgil cautiously took it and wrote down the information as quickly as possible, not saying a word until he was done.

Virgil slammed the notebook shut and quickly handed it back to Logan. "Alright I put the info in your journal. But don't expect anything spectacular. My powers aren't exactly 'flashy'," Virgil said as he gave the pen and notebook book back. Logan was quite surprised that Virgil wrote his information so readily, but accepted the journal eagerly.

"And don't you  _ dare _ share that with anyone or I will quite literally  _ make your life  _ **_hell_ ** ," Virgil threatened the taller of them, somehow making his voice deeper and making Logan have to look  up at him.

The illogicality of it all freaked out Logan enough that all he could do was nod slowly in response. Virgil looked content with that, and he suddenly turned back to normal. As he stood up, he offered a hand to Logan, who took it and pulled himself up.

Logan tried to thank Virgil as confidently as he could, but a voice-crack betrayed how scared he really was. Virgil pretended to not notice and simply nodded in response, "no problem. Anyways, I gotta go. I'll catch ya after school. Same place as usual?"

Logan, who was still thoroughly shaken by what had just occurred, nodded and tried again to regain his composure, "Yes, same spot as always." Virgil nodded and smiled to him, "Alright.. and thanks, I guess. You should go'n check Princey next. Might find somethin' interesting 'bout'im too..." And with that, the darkly dressed boy turned away and walked to his class. Logan watched him leave before turning away himself, returning to his original task.

As he walked, he worked on putting the pieces together. Virgil only spoke with shortened words when he was especially anxious or stressed about something. Not to mention, he was indeed another person with superhuman powers, and another was (metaphorically) hiding just under his nose! And based on Virgil's behavior, that third person was probably Roman. That wasn't as surprising as Logan thought Virgil believed, since Logan already had his suspicions about Roman, but the extra support to his theory was greatly appreciated.

Suddenly, Logan thought of the possibility that the three others from his horrible vision from ten years ago were Virgil, Roman, and, possibly, Patton. Logan would have to keep an eye on each of them from now on. If the people from his vision were, in fact, his friends, he knew he had to protect them, no matter the cost…

\--vv**••~~

Virgil 16 yrs. old

Power: making hallucinations and illusions

I can make people see and hear things that aren’t really there, basically. The hallucinations are sound and sight, but they’re less believable. The illusions are only sight but they’re more believable and basically unescapable. 

I can also make illusions stay easier than hallucinations, so that’s why my hallucinations disappear a lot. But illusions can stay, even when I’m not there. That’s what you saw in the classroom. 

So that’s it. not really a lot, but yeah. 

(also I do expect to know about your powers too)


	4. Tempus Agendae

As soon as Logan got home, he read what Virgil had written about his powers, and was quite impressed with what Virgil already knew about them. Virgil seemed to use his powers like it was second-nature, and Logan was surprised that the small boy had trouble with them.

Logan had been reading the first "power" journal entry over and over, thinking of the best way to describe his own powers to Virgil, but couldn't come up with anything. Logan didn't want to use his powers if he could help it, so he didn't quite know the extent or potency of them.

He had only intentionally used his powers a couple of times, but only bad things had happened because of his meddling. And when he stopped using them intentionally, he turned out to lead a much happier life. So for now, he wouldn't use his powers unless it was absolutely necessary. God knows what he could do if he didn't think of his powers as a burden.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud thunderclap outside, followed closely by rain hitting his window.

He looked towards his window and sighed; he had once again lost track of time and now it was pitch black outside, save for the occasional strike of lightning. He eventually decided to just finish up his homework for the week instead of obsessing more about explaining his powers. Perhaps a break would be beneficial to get his thoughts working again.

\--vv**••~~

The next day of school had finally arrived, and Logan was exhausted. His thoughts had kept him up until almost sunrise, so he'd gotten far less than the recommended eight hours of sleep.

As he was walking aimlessly through the halls, he was jumped on by the one-and-only Patton. "Hiya Logi!! How're you feeling? You look like you were run over by a Logan-motive!" he giggled at his own joke, while Logan just sighed. "Hello Patton. I'm just tired; I was up thinking all night."

Patton looked up, concerned for him. "Lo, you should really try and get more sleep!! But what were'ya thinking 'bout?" Patton asked, once again a question he couldn't answer. But he still had to say something, so he told a half-truth, "It was simply some things I've been stressed about lately."

Patton nodded in understanding, "Alright Lo, if you want any help with whatever is stressing you out, I can try'ta help ya the best I can!" Logan chucked a bit at Patton's poor grammar, and responded with a simple, "I'll be sure to, Pat."

And once again Patton was smiling, even more than usual, it seemed, and they headed to their first period. During class, however, Logan planned out the best way to ask Roman about his possible powers.

By the end of the day, Logan had come up with a solid strategy. Since Roman was very direct in how he dealt with issues, Logan decided it would be best to be direct with him too. But to aid in Logan's credibility, he would ask Virgil to come with him.

That pair had always been inseparable, even before they joined Patton and Logan's own duo, and Logan was sure Roman would trust Virgil enough to believe that Logan has his own powers (without a live demonstration, which would only be a last resort if things went horribly wrong).

As soon as the last bell rang, Logan put his plan into action. He headed to Virgil's locker and let him in onto his plan. And once he got Virgil to come with, they would ask to speak to Roman alone when they got to the boba tea shop.

The only problem with his plan was Patton. Although he was extremely understanding, he had never liked being "out of the loop" of things, and he may want to come with them. Hopefully, Virgil could come up with a tactic to keep Patton occupied while the other three talked.

Logan soon reached Virgil's locker, number 420, which Virgil absolutely despised. Luckily, Virgil was already at his locker, probably using an illusion trick to get out of class before the usual race to get out of school. "Hello Virgil. May I ask for your assistance with something? It's quite important," Logan greeted the anxious boy, who jumped a bit and spun around. "Hi Logan.. You really know how to sneak up on people, huh?"

Virgil was shaken by Logan's sudden appearance, but he looked to be desperately trying to hide that fact, so Logan let it go. "Yes, I suppose so. Now, I have a plan to get Roman to answer some of my questions, but I need you to be there too," Virgil looked a bit confused, so Logan elaborated, "to add to my credibility."

"Alright... but I still wanna know about your powers too, so after I do this, you have to give me  _ some _ information.." Virgil whispered, most likely not wanting anyone to overhear the bit about powers.

"Fine, and thank you for your cooperation," Logan responded at a more normal volume. Virgil tried and failed to hold back a laugh, and Logan looked at him, completely confused. "..You sound like a company's auto-generated customer service email," Virgil explained, bursting out laughing despite his struggle to not show his amusement.

Logan didn't quite understand, but it was a first to hear Virgil laughing, so he stayed silent as they headed to the group's meeting spot.

\--vv**••~~

They all got to the boba shop, and Logan trying to look as normal as possible, while Virgil simply sat down beside Roman as they talked. Virgil seemed more at ease with Roman, Logan had noticed, and he was far more animated while talking to Roman than anyone else. Hopefully, Virgil's ease with Roman would make this easier for all of them.

Logan shot a look at Virgil, and Virgil immediately caught it; it was time to put this plan into action. "Hey Ro? Lo had som' things ta talk 'bout with us, you mind comin' over to the b'room? s'mwhere private, ya'know..?" Virgil asked Roman, his nervous habit of shortening words starting up again. Logan had hoped that wouldn't happen, since Patton may become suspicious because of it, but he would have to work with it.

"Yes, Roman I would like to ask you a few questions. But they must be answered in private," Logan explained. Roman only nodded after looking to Virgil (for support, Logan assumed). Then, the moment of truth had arrived, " Excellent! Patton, would you mind staying here for just a bit? I assure you, I can let you in on this at a later date." Patton looked slightly sad, but also like he understood the situation completely, and nodded. "Sure Lo, I can wait here. But you have'ta tell me about what you guys are gonna talk about soon!"

Logan breathed out a sigh of relief and nodded his head, silently thanking Patton's understanding and easygoing nature. "Thank you Patton, I'm sure this will only take a moment. Now, Roman would you and Virgil come with me?"

Roman and Virgil nodded, leaving their bags and drinks with Patton, and Logan led the two to the men's room. Not before sparing a look back at Patton, who showed a sad smile and shooed Logan away.

Once they were in the bathroom, Virgil locked the door so no one would accidentally bust in. Roman looked nervously at the duo. He was most likely trying to decipher what they wanted, Logan thought.

Logan started, "Roman, as I'm sure you're aware, this is a personal matter, so I first would like you to agree to not mention this to anyone but us. Do you understand?" Roman quickly regained his composure and nodded, "Sure, I won't tell anyone about whatever we say here."

Then it was Virgil's turn. The smaller boy walked over to Roman and said something Logan couldn't quite hear. He did, however, hear Roman's reaction. "He knows about your powers?!?!" Roman yelled, gesturing towards Logan. This wasn't part of the plan, but he would once again "roll with it". "Yes, I do know about Virgil's powers. And I have reason to believe that you have similar powers to us," Logan stated matter-of-factly.

Roman was still shocked, but finally the true meaning of this meeting dawned on him. "Well, yeah I do have powers. Me and Virgil have known about each other's side we were kids, and he helps me cloak them. I'm guessing that's where you got the idea?" Roman answered, quite calmly despite his anxiety from before.

Logan went to ask him to write down what his powers were, slowly getting out his journal, but Roman continued. "Virge, can you let him see? He should know, and at this point, there's not much point in hiding it," he looked back at Virgil, who silently nodded. And suddenly, Logan could see what Roman had been hiding: a huge pair of wings, a very light grey color and almost six feet tall when they were folded.

Logan didn't even realize he had moved behind Roman to inspect the huge wings, poking and prodding at them until Virgil yelled, "That's enough! Logan stop it!! You're making him uncomfortable!" Virgil ran back and put himself in between Logan and Roman's wings, holding out his arms protectively.

"He hates them being touched! And another thing, you can't just treat him like a science project!! You... you can't.." Virgil started to cry after his outburst.

Roman quickly turned to hug the small boy and shield him with his wings. "Shh... it's alright Virge.. it wasn't that bothersome, I promise..." Roman cooed, stroking Virgil's hair and, eventually, calming him down completely.

Logan could only look on worriedly as this was happening. He wasn't as close to Virgil as Roman was, and he was the reason Virgil had gotten upset in the first place. It wasn't Logan's place to comfort him.

\--vv**••~~

When the three emerged from the bathroom, Virgil had cloaked Roman's wings once again and was clinging to him protectively. Roman had tried to assure Virgil that everything was alright and he was fine, but Virgil either didn't believe him or didn't care. Logan was walking beside the two, right hand in his pocket and left fiddling with his journal.

He had gotten Virgil to let Roman write down information about his powers, and it turned out that Roman could also summon a handful of mythical animals, and Roman had specified each in his entry.

Though Logan wondered if it was all worth it, since he had made Virgil more wary of him than before. And after Patton saw the state they were in, he immediately insisted that they should just go home to rest before tomorrow.

So now Logan was walking down the sidewalk once again, but instead of going to his home, he was walking alongside Patton to keep him company. He truly felt bad that his actions had cut their time together short, and Patton had been excluded from most of it.

"Being a quartet doesn't mean much if it's only three or two of us together," Logan mused aloud, not quite expecting an answer, but wanting Patton to hear what he was thinking anyway. He so desperately wanted to tell Patton about everything on his mind, but he wasn't sure he could yet.

Patton answered his rhetorical comment in the same wistful tone Logan had used. "That is true... very true.." the smaller boy nodded. Logan smiled at his understanding.

Although a part of Logan knew that Patton would accept him, normal or not, Logan was scared to loose Patton as a friend. He didn't want to admit it, but it was true, and the main reason for not telling Patton sooner.

Things between the two friends stayed silent for the rest of their walk, and as Logan said his goodbyes to Patton, he decided; he would find evidence, proof, anything, so he could finally tell Patton his secret without the fear of loosing his closest friend. 

\--vv**••~~

Roman  16 years old

My power is that I can summon mythical animals and I have wings. 

The wings aspect is self-explanatory. I have wings, they’re probably 6 ft. tall and I have a 12 ft. wingspan. I don’t know how long or fast I can fly because Virge doesn’t let me go out flying for too long, since I might get caught. 

The summoning part is a bit more complicated. 

I have  ~~ 6 ~~ 5 “summons” right now. 

My summons: 

Julie - She’s an ornate water dragon. She’s very small, so she lives in a fishtank in my room. She was also the first thing I’ve summoned, so she’s very special to me. 

Gilda - She’s a quiet and very loyal hippogriff. She can fly very quietly and fast, and she’s one of my favorite summons. 

Misty - She’s an excitable hippocampus. She doesn’t like me riding her, but she really likes Virge. I’ve trained her to help navigate oceans and find people. 

Toras - He’s an adult centaur, and very protective of me. He’s also the only one I can talk to, so he’s also the most well-behaved. He is also probably my strongest summon. 

Fermor - He’s an adult male manticore. He’s pretty dangerous since he only listens to me and is quite dangerous otherwise, especially when he’s angry. I had to train him extensively to be able to trust him, but now he’s very loyal to me. 


	5. Naufragii

"I can't keep doing this!!! Patton is not showing signs of any abnormal behavior!! I don't know if I can keep this up for much longer!" Logan yelled, outraged at his own muddled thoughts; he was once again letting his frustration out through vocal means.

It had been one week after he found out about Roman's powers, and Logan had isolated himself yet again, returning to his old habits to study everything that had been occurring.

He also started gathering information on Patton, but nothing had come of it thus-far. He'd hoped that closely observing Patton would lead him to find out anything abnormal about his friend, but after a full week, he was simply out of ideas. He had even resorted to following and watching him without his knowledge a few times. Although it was against his moral compass, he believed it was still for the greater good.

Though, he wasn't sure if that meant stopping the end of the world, or just keeping Patton safe and happy.

Logan had avoided any contact at all, mulling over the information he had gathered about both Roman and Patton over the last two days, but it only left him disheartened and frustrated. So there he was; home alone and cooped up in his room for the entire weekend, yelling to himself every few minutes to keep himself from punching something.

He checked the time on his digital alarm clock. 12:30 am. "Of course..." Logan sighed, turning off his desk lamp and heading to his bed. As he drifted off into unconsciousness, he stared at his disorderly desk, and generally messy room. "I should clean this up once I find out Patton's power.." he thought to himself, finally able to fall asleep.

\--vv**••~~

Logan was awoken by his alarm going off, 5:30 am. He sprung out of bed, reinvigorated once again to find Patton's power. He hadn't slept most of the weekend, so the lack of sleep weighed him down a bit, but he was also excited to see Patton, Roman, and Virgil again.

Logan quickly showered and put on his usual clothes, black polo and jeans, and the outfit tied together by his navy-blue tie. Then he headed out to school at precisely 7:00 am. As he walked, his thoughts were still consumed with Patton.

At this point, Logan refused to even consider that Patton might not have a power. He had invested so much time, energy, and emotions into this friendship for the small boy to not be special to Logan somehow. Though in the back of his mind, Logan knew that Patton being powerless was more logical than holding onto his hope. Yet, something was driving him forward, and he wasn't in the mood to argue with the universe today.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps running down the sidewalk behind him. He tried to dodge away from the running person, but they tackled him to the ground before he could. He smiled and looked up, hopeful that it was his bubbly friend, but that hope was dashed when he saw it was just Roman.

"Oh, hello Roman. Would you mind getting off of me?" Logan asked, smile fading a bit. Roman, still not getting off of his slender victim, snapped.

"Oh. My. GOD! You have some explaining to do, Logan! You straight-up ghosted us the entire weekend!! Virge even managed to convince himself that you'd DIED, and  _ I _ had to spend all of Sunday with him! And you have the AUDACITY to tell me to get off you!!! You'd better give me a good explanation before I punch you into tomorrow!" Roman exploded, glaring furiously down at Logan.

Logan did not like getting yelled at, not in the slightest. And that, paired with his lack of sleep during the last few days, fueled his own outrage. However, his anger came out as cold and foreboding, almost scarier than Roman's outward ferocity.

"Roman. I was looking into all of our powers and finishing homework I've been neglecting that entire weekend. I was not going to come out until I was done, and that happened at midnight last night. And all this was happening while  _ you _ were frolicking in the metaphorical flower fields. So yes, I did 'ghost' you, but you have no right to hold me against my will and yell in my face. Now, as I asked before, Get. Off. Of. Me." Logan growled.

Dumbfounded, and probably terrified, Roman slid off of Logan, landing on his knees on the sidewalk. He continued staring at a point on the ground that must've been the most important thing in the universe to him in that moment.

Logan simply got up and dusted himself off. Looking to where Roman came from, he saw Virgil sprinting to catch up to the two.

When Virgil finally did catch up, his hair was a mess and he was struggling to catch his breath. He immediately helped the dazed Roman to his feet, only acknowledging him for the moment.

"Ro, you shouldn't run ahead like that! Especially since it was to tackle Logan like that! I know you're mad, but geez..." Virgil sounded like a mother scolding her rowdy child, and now that Logan had the image in his head, he couldn't push the image from his tired mind. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the thought.

That brought Virgil's attention to Logan. Hurt and bitterness filled the dark boy's eyes, quickly cutting off Logan's laughter.

Logan looked back, trying show he was apologetic, but his rage was still just beneath the surface. Virgil could see that too, and wasn't happy, though Logan couldn't tell if it was towards himself or Roman.

Logan decided it was best to leave the situation before he made it any worse, only saying a quick "goodbye" to the pair before resuming his walk to school.

\--vv**••~~

As Logan arrived at school, he noticed the distinct lack of Patton.

No one greeting him as he walked in, no one interrupting his walk to class; no one even noticing him at all.

He started to get worried that he had upset Patton, maybe even more than Roman, but when he got to his first class, there Patton was, sitting in his desk and doodling someone surrounded by hearts and... glasses..?

Logan didn't really understand why he was drawing glasses, but wasn't wanting to question it either; he was still a bit anxious that he'd upset Patton with his extended absence. Patton, absorbed in his drawings, didn't seem to notice Logan come into the room.

So he stood, silently watching Patton's hand move as he methodically drew; heart, glasses, heart, heart, glasses, and glasses again. After a while of staring, Logan decided maybe it was better if he spoke.

"Hello Patton, I wasn't expecting to see you here before me," Logan greeted, trying to quell his nervousness. Patton immediately jolted up, snapping his sketchbook closed and running over to Logan.

Patton jumped on him, hugging his neck with his feet on the ground. "OH LOGI!!! PLEASE DON'T DO THAT EVER AGAIN!!" Patton yelled, sounding somewhere between laughter and sobs, "We were all so worried about you! Don't do that again, okay Logi? ...I was really worried you'd left for good..." Patton finished, almost whispering the last part with sadness evident in his shaky voice.

Logan was shocked, but he had to admit, the fear wasn't unfounded; he had isolated himself in elementary school, he could do it again in high school. But he would feel horrible guilt at leaving Patton, Virgil, and Roman behind forever. Especially Patton, who'd been so nice to him since day one, and the only person he could consider his best friend.

Logan carefully hugged Patton back, holding the small boy up a bit so he didn't hurt his neck. "It's alright Patton, I could never leave you all alone. I was simply focused on doing homework and research the entire weekend. I'm very sorry to have scared you," he comforted, rubbing Patton's back in slow, even circles.

After a minute, Patton pulled away and looked Logan in the eye. "I really don't want you'ta start isolating yourself again, Lo. I know you get really focused on work, but you've been bein' so social and I'm really proud of you for that! I just don't want'chya to backtrack..." Patton poured his heart out to Logan, hiding his face again in Logan's polo.

Logan was surprised once again; Patton was quite invested in him and his social life, even more than he would've thought. He stayed silent though, comforting Patton, who was still clinging onto him.

\--vv**••~~

After school, Logan wasn't sure if he would be welcome at the boba shop the group always went to. He hadn't seen Roman or Virgil all day, and he was sure Roman was still furious. He hadn't seen Patton after first period either.

Logan was waiting at their meeting spot, early as ever, debating whether or not he should stay or not. He was about to leave, but he heard a dismayed shout from behind him as he turned. "LOGI PLEASE STAY!! I'M SURE YOU CAN EXPLAIN TO RO AND VEE WHAT HAPPENED!" Patton yelled, sprinting over to Logan.

Logan whipped around just in time for Patton to slam into his chest. "Owww..." the smaller groaned. "Well, you shouldn't be running too fast for you to stop. And I was simply going to leave and give this a chance to blow over," Logan responded, helping Patton up. Patton looked disappointedly up at Logan, who shrunk under his gaze sheepishly.

"I'm sorry Patton, I simply don't think it's a good idea to try and talk to Roman and Virgil right now. They were very mad at me this morning, and I doubt they'd have forgiven me now," Logan apologized while inching away slowly, still aiming to leave before Roman and Virgil arrived.

"But Logiiii, I haven't seen you in  _ forever _ !! And'm sure Ro and Vee would wanna see you too!" Patton objected, moving to block Logan's exit route. Just as Logan was about to object again, Virgil came strolling up, dragging Roman behind him.

"Roman, I get it; you're mad. But just... try to hear him out? I'm sure he has a rational reason for this.  _ Even if it doesn't excuse what he did... _ " Virgil was trying to get Roman to stay too, and Logan was a bit appreciative of that.

He did have a good, perfectly logical reason. He just couldn't explain the full story to them before he got proof. He desperately didn't want them to tell Patton what he'd been doing in secret for the last week.

Roman simply groaned in response, escaping Virgil's grasp and fixing his clothes, looking anywhere but at Logan, who shuffled closer to Patton, uncomfortable with the silence. Patton was looking between the two sadly; he had told Logan previously that he didn't like when people fought, and it must be even worse now that the two fighting were his friends.

Logan sighed. He couldn't leave now that the others were here, and he did want a chance to explain himself to Roman. "Okay, let's go. Additionally, maybe we can go to a tea place instead of boba today. A change of scenery might be nice," Logan suggested. Roman looked Logan right in the eye and snarled, "Oh, so you come back and the first thing you do is start making demands?!"

Logan sighed, "Well, do you have a better idea,  _ Roman _ ?" Logan challenged. His friend's petty behavior was really getting on his nerves. Roman grumbled, but didn't say anything, so Patton agreed that maybe a change of scenery would be good, and they were off.

Logan walked silently beside Patton, Roman and Virgil trailing behind and talking in hushed voices. Then Patton spoke up, just loud enough for Logan to hear, but no one else, "You should tryta talk things out with Ro... Vee doesn't seem that mad at'chya, so I'm sure you can get through'ta Ro."

Logan considered that for a moment, and nodded to Patton, a small smile forming on his face. Patton always gave him the best advice when it came to feelings. He was sure Roman would forgive him when he "spilled the beans" about trying to figure out Patton's powers all weekend. All he had to do was gain back Roman and Virgil's trust, and he had just come up with a great trust-builder.

He would write out a journal entry for himself and share it with them.

It was a bit risky to share something that important with someone who hates you, but the gesture itself would show Logan's honesty and show that he feels he can trust them. Now Logan just had to write up the entry.

\--vv**••~~

Today at the tea shop was very awkward. Roman refused to speak to Logan, handing out snarky comments directed towards Logan as if he wasn't even there. Logan decided that since he wouldn't be allowed in the conversation, he may as well start writing his journal entry. He felt horrible for Patton, seeing that the outing wasn't the greatest they'd ever had, but there wasn't much he could do to change it.

Now he was sitting at home again, his desk lamp on and blank Word document in front of him.

He had only gotten the first line of the entry planned at the shop, but he was determined to finish this before tomorrow morning. There, he would slip the entry, along with an apology note, into Roman and Virgil's lockers before they arrived. Then, if everything went alright, the two would forgive him and this whole squabble would be forgotten.

Well, that was the best case scenario.

Logan shut his eyes tightly, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "What would Patton do?" he asked himself. Then, like magic, an idea came to mind, and he started typing furiously.

\--vv**••~~

Logan awoke to his alarm beeping annoyingly. He hit it to shut it off, and rolled out of bed. He'd spent almost all night working on his apology and power description, and he'd gotten up extra early so he could beat Virgil and Roman to school. He sighed, and got ready, walking out the door half an hour later.

As he started the walk to school, Logan couldn't help but rub his eyes tiredly and yawn. The lack of sleep was really getting to him, especially today. But he had to get to school sooner rather than later, so he pushed through his exhaustion and walked a bit faster.

\--vv**••~~

Logan got to school almost an hour before he usually did, which was already quite early. He opened up the doors cautiously, and was met by two students talking softly under the stairs and sharing Starbucks drinks.

Logan let out a sigh and headed to Roman's locker first. He folded up the papers neatly and slipped them in, heading to Virgil's locker next and hoping that would be a good enough apology to the both of them. 

——————————————————

November 3rd, 2019

Dear  Roman / **Virgil** ,

I am very deeply sorry for what I did to you  by ignoring you / **and for causing you to worry** . I do feel like you are owed an explanation, and I hope that you can find it in you r heart to forgive me. I know that I cannot expect you to forgive me right away,  but I hope that we can continue our friendship / **but I hope that we can come to a mutual understanding** . 

Now, my explanation is a bit more complicated  than what I told you yesterday morning / **than what Roman has probably explained to you** . I told  you / **Roman** that I was researching our powers. However, more accurately, I was trying to research possible powers that Patton could have. This endeavor was fruitless, however, and I ended up staying up late each night of the weekend trying to "connect the dots" **, as you would say** . I became a bit obsessed with it, and neglected you all because of it; a bad habit I am trying to break. I must stress that I am very, truly sorry for doing that to you. 

Now, I know that you won't want to trust me again after this event, but I promised  Virgil / **you** that I would share a description of my powers, as you have done for me. So attached to this apology letter is an in-depth description of my powers and what I know about them. I hope that this will be sufficient enough for you to  begin / **feel safe** putting your trust in me again.

——————————————————

Logan - 16 years old

Powers: Future Sight and Mind Control

I feel I must inform you, before you get  your hopes up / **too "freaked out"** , I don't like using my powers, so  I don't know everything they can do / **I haven't used them on you or anyone else in the recent past, nor would I think of doing so in the future** . Other than that, my powers are mostly self-explanatory, though there's some specifics that I should elaborate on.

I will explain my Future Sight power first. I can't control this power, to my knowledge, and it comes in the form of dreams or nightmares. My premonitions are also rare, and I haven't had one since middle school, to my knowledge. Most premonitions are warnings, but sometimes I get one that gives me information on a possible good future. And although most premonitions are easy to spot, some aren't as easy and I may confuse them with normal dreams.

Another thing to note is that this power only shows me a future where I do not interfere. But if I do interfere with the possible future, I can change what will happen. I don't know exactly how to change the future to my benefit though, so most of the time I choose to not get involved.

My Mind Control power is the one I don't let myself use.  You may think it'd be the best thing ever to make anyone do whatever you want, whenever you want, but you'd be sorely mistaken. If I let myself use this power, I fear I'd quickly become unhappy and/or power-hungry. Using this kind of power could change anyone's life immensely, but as soon as I realized I had it, I told myself I would never use it again, for the good of myself and those around me.

Now, I know this is an exercise in trust, but I don't think this is the right time, place, or medium to tell you what happened back then.

That is all I know about my powers currently, seeing as I don't use them if I can help it, but I do hope that you now have a better understanding of what my abilities are. If you have any further questions, you can come to me with them, or you may drop a note with them into my locker if you don't wish to talk with me.

Signed,

_ Logan Croft _


	6. Apocalypsis

The entire day, Logan was anxious and distant thinking about what Roman and Virgil would say about his letter.

During first period, the one class he had with Patton, Logan explained that he'd written up an apology and explanation for the two. Patton was very happy he'd taken the initiative in repairing their friendship, and assured Logan that everything would turn out alright.

However, Logan couldn't get himself to stop thinking of worst-case scenarios. He had written the letter at almost 3 am, and he was sure the wording he'd used was a bit off. Maybe that would be beneficial, since his emotions were more visible when he was tired, but Logan feared he had also been a bit passive aggressive, towards Roman at least.

Suddenly, the final bell rang, though Logan wasn't sure if the sound was a relief to him or not, and he got up to leave. As he was walking down the hallway to his locker, Logan was stopped by none other than Virgil and Roman.

Logan was surprised, but quickly nodded and turned to walk around the pair. His arm was quickly grabbed by Roman, preventing his departure.

"Hey Logan, we saw your letter.. and, well, Roman and I forgive you. Just don't pull that sh*t again," Virgil said before Logan could get away, "right Ro?" Logan was staring at the ground, but he could feel Roman staring at him. Then, Roman responded quietly, almost unintelligibly, "Yeah, I may have been wrong and overreacted."

Logan looked up to see Roman's expression, and when he saw that it was a mixture of sadness and guilt, Logan could tell the boy was being genuine. "Okay, I promise to not isolate myself without warning again," Logan responded, looking Roman and Virgil right in the eyes. After a moment, the two nodded in understanding, and they all walked to their meeting spot. 

Just before they arrived, however, Roman spoke up. "In your letter, you said you were trying to figure out Patton's powers, or if he has any... Why don't you just ask? I mean, you did it alright with me, and you've known Patton way longer than me or Virge. So I don't get why you can't just ask him directly," he asked, looking over at Logan quizzically, and he found himself unable to respond right away.

Logan had to admit, that idea had crossed his mind before, but he had rejected it because he didn't have any solid proof that Patton had powers and was fearful that telling him would cause their friendship to end, or worse. But after the past week, Logan was all out of options. He sighed, "I did think of that, but didn't see it as a good option to confirm my thoughts. However, now I believe I've exhausted my good ideas, so I may take that path now. But do you really think this would work?"

Logan didn't want to admit it, but his worst fear was loosing Patton's companionship. Although he had survived before without friends, the small group he had was now indispensable to him. To top that off, Patton was the one he was closest to, and the one he was most scared of loosing. He couldn't quite rationalize why, since he related more to Virgil and Roman was almost as friendly to him as Patton, but it was true nonetheless.

"I definitely think it'll work out! Patton's one of the most understanding people out there, and even if he doesn't end up having powers, I bet he'd think it's the coolest thing ever that we have powers!" Roman piped up again after letting Logan think. Or perhaps Logan had just missed a bit of the conversation again while he was in his head.

"Thank you for your reassurance, Roman. I appreciate it greatly. Although I still have my reservations about it, I may try asking him tonight," Logan thanked Roman, though he was very anxious just under the surface. He hoped he was hiding his nerves effectively as they turned the corner and he saw Patton waiting for them.

"HI LO!! AND RO AND VEE!!! You guys made up??" Patton ran over to them, hugging each of them with a huge smile on his face. "Yeah Pat, we did make up," Virgil spoke as Patton squeezed him.

Patton pulled away and scanned the three of them with stars in his eyes. Then, somehow smiling even wider, Patton spoke ecstatically, "Well, that's prob'ly the best thing that's happened all day!! We should definitely go somewhere special 'ta celebrate! Does ice cream sound good to ev'rybody?" The three couldn't help but copy Patton's infectious smile, and Logan confirmed, "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Pat."

\--vv**••~~

After they got ice cream, they decided to go to a nearby park to eat it and talk. Logan was walking behind the others, thinking about the best time to ask Patton about his possible powers and not listening to the others' conversation. Luckily, now that Roman and Virgil knew of his plan, they helped distract Patton as Logan thought.

When they all got to the park, Logan decided that this would finally be a good time to ask. "Patton, may I have a word with you in private?" he asked tentatively, avoiding Patton's gaze. "Oh! Sure Logi," Patton answered immediately. He sounded more excited than curious, which surprised Logan slightly, but he brushed it off.

"Excellent. Roman, Virgil, could you two please go somewhere else for a moment?" Logan asked, sending them a look saying, "it's time."

"Sure Logan. C'mon Ro, I'll show'ya somethin'," Virgil answered, dragging Roman off towards a nearby tree. He looked over at Patton, who was watching the other two leave, and readied himself for what he was about to do. When they were out of sight, Patton turned back to Logan, "So, what's this about?" he asked innocently.

"Well, I have been wondering about a trait you may possess for a while, and I was wondering if I could confirm my suspicions with you," Logan started, getting more nervous by the second under Patton's gaze, "Additionally, I would like confirmation that you will answer this question completely honestly."

Logan was simply "dancing around the question" at this point, and Patton seemed to sense this and put his hand on Logan's shoulder encouragingly. "I promise. I'll answer honestly," he answered, never once breaking eye contact with his tall friend.

Logan closed his eyes and sighed heavily, brought up all the courage he could, and said it, "Patton, do you have supernatural powers?"

He didn't hear a response for a moment, then heard muffled giggling. When he looked up, he saw that Patton was smiling goofily at him and trying to hold back laughter. Logan stared, dumbfounded and even more anxious. Laughter was far from any reaction he had imagined, and Logan was completely unprepared to deal with it.

Quickly, Patton calmed down and stated, "Logiii, yea I do have powers. Ya caught meee!" he answered jokingly. Logan was quite unamused however, and Patton stopped smiling. "Oh Logi I didn't mean 'ta be mean, I just... it's funny! You know why?" Patton asked, cocking his head at Logan like a puppy.

"No, I do not find this situation funny. What humor do you see in this?" Logan snapped a bit, but he couldn't stay mad at Patton, especially when he was cute like that. Patton giggled again.

"Well Logi," he leaned in and whispered, "I can read minds! ...and I can speak to animals, but that's not as important right now."

Logan once again found himself speechless. Patton... could read his mind??? Then... Patton had known about everything this entire time!! And he hadn't mentioned anything!

Patton looked at Logan a bit guiltily. Right, he could hear Logan right now, couldn't he?

"Alright, Logan, yes I can hear that, and I swear to ya, I didn't say anything for a good reason. I was just waiting for you ta come out and ask! I wanna help you, but I also didn't wanna encourage ya to stalk people for answers. I also know about your powers: premonitions and mind-control. I never mean'ta intrude on people's privacy, but you've been so worried 'bout 'em lately and I couldn't help but overhear," Patton hastily explained, laughing a bit at the end.

Logan, still at a loss for words, said the first question that came to mind, "...How does it work..?" It came out weaker than he would've liked, but Patton ignored it, stopping to think for a minute. "Why not I just write it in your journal-thingy? That'll be better and you can analyze it later!" the smaller finally answered, pulling Logan back to the present.

"Oh yes! That would be the best medium for you to explain! Thank you for reminding me," Logan answered, digging into his pocket for his journal and pen. Once he got them out, he handed them to Patton, who quickly started writing his own entry down. When he was done, he handed the journal back to Logan.

"You should read that when ya get home, so you aren't left analyzing it while everyone's here! It'll be like the cherry-on-top to a good day!!" Patton said when Logan went to read the entry. Logan was a bit disappointed to not read it right away, but he had to admit, Patton had a point. He nodded and put the journal back in his pocket.

"Alright Patton, and.. thank you."

——————————————————

Patton!  16 yrs. Old

Hiya Logi! My powers, like I said, are mind reading and talking to animals!

I guess you’d want a explanation of it, so here ya go! 

My mind reading is always on, so I can’t stop hearing peoples’ thoughts. I only hear immediate or surface level thoughts though. Otherwise I’d have to focus on reading someone’s mind, but that’s an invasion of privacy so I don’t do it often. I have accidentally done it to you though… I want to know what you’re thinking and my power complies. I’m really sorry tho! 

Anyways, my animal communication is more straightforward (yes, I know big words). I talk to animals and we can understand eachother! I’m not sure how it sounds when I talk to ‘em, but I don’t do it around others anyway. 

Well, I hope this helps ya, Logi!    
(If you have any other questions, just ask me!) 

(I just realized I forgot my last name! It’s Amore!)

——————————————————

Logan sat at his desk once again, reading and re-reading Patton's informally written journal entry over and over again. He still couldn't believe that Patton had powers of his own and was able to mask them so well. Granted, Patton's powers weren't visible like Roman's and Virgil's, but Logan found it hard to believe that Patton hadn't slipped up using them at all.

If Logan had his mind-reading power, he was sure he'd end up accidentally referencing or reacting to people's thoughts during conversation. Or perhaps be talking absentmindedly with an animal in public if he had Patton's animal-communication power.

There were many variables that could affect one's ability to mask powers like those, and Logan found himself quite impressed with Patton's skill at hiding them.

But now that Logan knew that all four of them did have superpowers, this brought up an old concern of his: he, Patton, Roman, and Virgil were the people from his first premonition, and they were rapidly heading towards that future.

Logan wanted desperately to protect all of them from the future, but he didn't know where to begin. All he knew is that he would have to prevent this future and protect his friends from the evil looming ahead at all costs. 


	7. Initium Novum

Patton woke up bright and early that morning, excited to start the day. The four friends had all gone to different colleges, but he and Roman insisted that they all stay in touch. And today, now that they had all graduated from college a few weeks ago, Logan had found a place for them to live together!

Patton was ecstatic, to say the least, to finally see them again. Patton was doubly excited because he'd gone to a college in the UK and wasn't able to visit the others much. But now he was back in the US, temporarily living in a hotel.

Right after he got dressed in some comfy clothes, he promptly texted Logan, Roman, and Virgil in their group chat:

——————————————————

P: HI GUYSSS!!!! 

Im SO EXCITED!!!!!!

WERE MOVINF IN TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!

I HAVENT SEEN YOU IN AGEeEESSSS!!!!!!!!!!!

——————————————————

After only a small delay, Patton's phone buzzed and he practically pounced on it to read the response:

——————————————————

L: Good morning Patton. 

I'm very excited too, but you should save your excitement for when you get here. 

Oh, I neglected to mention that I've already moved in to the apartment. I cleaned up a bit, so its condition is serviceable now.

R: Don't be so formal Lo! And leave pat alone!!

He hasn't been in the US since spring break for gods sake!

L: I simply don't understand texting us when he will see us all in under an hour.

R: Well, I support ya all the way Patty boi!!! Don't listen to Logan, he doesn't know what excitement is even!

P: Oh, Ro don't be like that! I'm sure Logi's excited, just on the inside! 

Ok I haveta get ready now, so SEE YOU SOON!!!!!

=^>w<^=

R: Ok Pat!! 

Btw, I'll be driving Virge to the place later

I have to to drag the emo nightmare out of bed first though XD

So count on us being late Lo

——————————————————

Patton smiled and put down his phone, continuing to get ready to go to the apartment and meet up with his friends after so long. He was excited beyond belief to see his friends again, and now they were all going to live together!

Patton was especially eager to see Logan, who he'd gotten the least time with because of Logan's more rigorous schedule. And Patton didn't want to admit it to himself, but he did have a small crush on the tall and serious friend he'd had since middle school.

But Patton had decided that he wouldn't say anything until Logan felt the same, for both their sakes.

\--vv**••~~

Finally, Patton called a taxi to go to the apartment's address, and on the long ride, he couldn't help but overhear the grumpy driver's thoughts.

_ Ugh why did I have to get a call so early? And so far away....Wow, it's only the beginning of the day Gerald, get ahold of yourself... just keep a smile on and hopefully this kid'll give you a good tip.. _

He was a bit deflated at that; Patton didn't mean to annoy this cab driver with his call, but he couldn't do much about it.

He didn't have a car, and his United States license had expired during college, so even if he did have a car he couldn't drive it. He had no other choice than to call a cab. "Well, the least I can do is give him a big tip like he wants.." Patton thought, staring out the window and trying to block Gerald's thoughts from his mind.

\--vv**••~~

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Patton arrived at their new apartment. He quickly paid Gerald with a generous tip and thanked him, almost accidentally calling him by his name in the process. Luckily, he didn't.

_ Oh, this kid's actually pretty nice. And he gave me a great tip. Alright, well thanks kiddo. _ The driver smiled genuinely, and Patton smiled back at him twice as much. "Thanks for the ride, mister! Have a great day!" Patton called to the driver as he sped away, probably to another call.

He had to admit, sometimes his power was useful to help him make people's days just a bit better.

Patton turned and happily made his way to the complex's front doors. According to Logan, their new apartment was on the third floor and the complex had no elevator, so Patton would have to carry his suitcases up three flights of stairs. He sighed, but was determined to do this so he wouldn't inconvenience Logan.

\--vv**••~~

Finally, Patton and his three suitcases made it up the stairs. He was exhausted, but he was reinvigorated as he remembered that his friend would right behind the door in front of him.

Patton quickly double-checked that this was the right address and knocked.

He could hear the muffled thoughts of someone inside, and as soon as the door swung open he was bombarded with a jumble of happy, excited, and nervous thoughts. It was a bit overwhelming, so it took Patton a second to process it all.

_ Oh my god he's here!! Is my hair alright? Wait did he carry his bags all the way up here? By himself? Why didn't he ask me for help? I certainly could have aided in carrying his bags.. _

_ God he's hearing me right now. I keep forgetting... _

_ Okay I just have to stop thinking!  _

_ Stop stop stop stop stop!! _

Patton chuckled at the frantic thoughts of his friend, looking up to see that it was Logan who'd opened the door. Logan had a small, calm smile on his face, but he was screaming in his head. Patton had always found that adorable about him. Always so absorbed in his thoughts, and somehow he almost never showed them on the outside.

"Hiya Logi!!! It's been so long!" Patton greeted, hugging his tall friend enthusiastically and hopefully reassuring him in the process. Luckily, Patton's hug could still instantly quiet Logan's thoughts, and Logan simply smiled wider and hugged Patton back.

"You're right; it has been far too long. Now, would you like to come in and claim a room?" Logan asked after a minute, gesturing to the apartment behind him. "Sure Logi!" Patton rushed over to his stuff, eager to grab his things and get into his new home.

Logan picked up two of Patton's suitcases and set them down in the main room of the apartment, though not without a lot of protesting from the owner of the bags. Patton looked around, taking in every feature of their new home.

The apartment itself was small, but the main room still had room for a sectional couch, coffee table, and tv. The walls were a nice auburn color, like autumn leaves, the couch and coffee table were a darker brown, and the creme tiled floor tied the whole room together. There was a hallway to the left of him that had five dark brown doors; Patton guessed four of them led to the bedrooms and the fifth was to the bathroom.

To his right was the kitchen, open and brightly lit. Patton could see that it was painted the same color as the rest of the apartment and it had all the main appliances: a stove, sink, dishwasher, microwave, and fridge all along the back wall. In the middle there was an island with four bar stools set up on the side opposite the rest of the kitchen.

As Patton gazed around the room, Logan was thinking to himself again.  _ Ok, this is good; it must be satisfactory for him. I do hope I cleaned up enough beforehand though... oh mother of god I have to stop. He can still hear me and my senseless worrying... _

Patton looked at Logan worriedly. "Hey Lo, you don't haveta silence your thoughts just because I'm here. I like hearing them actually! And ya really don't have to worry, 'bout the apartment or me hearin' ya!" Patton tried to reassure the tall man. Logan looked a bit surprised, but he responded quickly.

"I'm sorry Patton.. I will try to take that into consideration. But I am happy to hear that you like the apartment. Roman and Virgil haven't arrived yet, so you may choose any of the rooms down the hall. Here, follow me," Logan then picked up Patton's bags and headed down the hall. Patton followed him quickly, dropping the subject.

Logan showed Patton the three open rooms. They looked almost identical; the same small size, white walls, twin bed in the corner, mahogany desk opposite the bed, and a dresser next to that.

The rooms did have subtle differences though. Two of the rooms had windows looking out over the city, one of the desks was white instead of brown, and one had a baby blue bedside table. Patton ended up choosing the room with a window and the blue bedside table, setting his stuff on the bed to be put away later.

After he was settled, Logan offered to show Patton his room too, and Patton vehemently accepted. His room looked smaller than the others, but that may have been because the walls were lined with bookshelves, all of them filled by different books.

The rest of Logan's room was plain looking, if a bit messy. His desk was already covered in papers and had a half-full coffee mug on a coaster. The bookshelves, while organized, were overflowing with all the books Logan had. His bed was made with a navy blue comforter and matching pillows; the bed probably being the neatest thing in his room.

As Patton was looking around, Logan's worried thoughts started up again, but Patton quickly silenced them by squeezing Logan's hand. "Your room looks amazing Logi! You really don't haveta worry!" Patton smiled and reassured him.

"Thank you Patton, I will try not to worry about it. I believe it's simply my nerves after not seeing you for months. It should be resolved by tonight, although I must admit I'm still readjusting to your presence," Logan rambled, looking out of the corner of his eye at Patton, "But that's not to say I'm not happy to see you, nor would rather you not be here! I am very happy, especially after being relieved of my strenuous college courses and having not seen you recently."

Patton giggled, "Logi it's fine! I know you're happy to see me! I just don't wanna make you feel  _ too _ nervous!" He'd missed Logan's rambling about different topics. And it was made all the better that this topic was how he cared what Patton thought and felt.

Logan simply nodded, looking a bit away from his bubbly companion. "Okay Patton, I'll try to 'loosen up'. Now, would you like to watch a movie while we wait for the others to arrive? I didn't bring many, but there are a few I believe you would find enjoyable," Logan offered and Patton vigorously nodded his head. "Sure Logi! Let's go!!" he responded, grabbing Logan's hand and skipping back to the main room for the movie.

\--vv**••~~

Halfway through a surprisingly interesting documentary Logan had about pigeons, the door slammed open, "Logan!!! We have arrived!!! Is Pat here yet?!?" Roman's sing-song voice echoed through the apartment. Patton jumped up from his spot on the couch and vaulted over it to greet Roman and Virgil. Roman saw Patton and started running at him, the two colliding in a hug.

"HI RO!!! It's so great to see you!!!!" Patton greeted him, just as loud as if he were across the street from Roman.  _ Heheh ow _ Roman thought, and Patton quickly pulled away, still smiling and unable to contain his excitement. "It's been forever, hasn't it?" the smaller said, quieter this time. "Yeah, it really has! Don't you leave us all alone again Patty boy!" Roman said jokingly.

_ Pfft Roman stoppp! _

Patton heard Virgil's quiet mind-voice through the noise and he looked past Roman to see Virgil standing awkwardly in the door-frame. Upon noticing him, Patton jumped over and engulfed Virgil in a big bear hug. "Virgil! You should come in too!! I haven't seen you in forever either!" Patton said happily, pulling him into the apartment. Virgil stiffened a bit in surprise, but he quickly relaxed and hugged his energetic now-roommate back.

"It's great to see you too Pat," Virgil commented quietly as he was pulled inside. Patton only broke his hug when Virgil was completely inside and he heard Roman's laugh, mixed with his slightly distressed thoughts.

Patton knew that Roman liked Virgil, but Roman wasn't going to admit it on his own. Although Patton didn't want to meddle too much in their relationship, he would try his best to push Roman to confess his feelings to Virgil.

He playfully stuck his tongue out at Roman as he let go of Virgil. This made Roman's jealous thoughts grow, but he just covered it up like usual. "Maybe next time" Patton thought to himself. 

\--vv**••~~

Everyone was settled in by 6:45, and they were now all sitting on the couch together watching Moana.

Roman had taken the other window room, but not before a lot of protest from Virgil. Virgil didn't mind his own room's lack of a window, but he was worried that someone could easily see Roman's wings through his window. Roman managed to calm him down by promising to put curtains up as soon as he could, and Virgil begrudgingly accepted and lent Roman some curtains he'd packed for himself.

Other than that, they hadn't had any major problems and were simply content to all be together again. Patton was very happy they were getting along, since he'd been a bit worried that the four would've changed too much to relate to each other anymore. Luckily, they still all enjoyed Disney and were still comfortable in each other's company.

As the movie went on, Patton was getting pretty tired from his long day, and ended up laying his head on Logan's shoulder. Logan stiffened at first, going through an internal argument with himself at lightning speed, and finally decided on putting his arm around Patton.

In that moment, Patton couldn't be happier as he drifted off to sleep in Logan's embrace. 


	8. Anxietas

A few weeks after moving into the new apartment, Logan was beginning to get back into a routine and was taking note of the others' schedules too. Patton was the first to wake up each morning unless Roman was going to work early, and Virgil was the last to come out without fail. Logan was unsure if he was the last to wake however, since Roman's wings were always cloaked when he got up. Additionally, both Roman and Virgil had jobs unknown to Logan, and Patton was still searching for one. 

Logan had decided on a job that would allow him to work very few hours, giving him more time for his own research; technical writing. The job consisted of writing manuals for different products, so it was right up his alley.

Although he'd gotten a masters degree in engineering, he knew he would need a job where he could have as much free time as possible in a low pressure environment, just in case unexpected circumstances came up. And by "unexpected circumstances," he meant his first premonition coming true. In the event of that happening, he would have to divert all his attention to stopping it instead of working a day job.

Today was Saturday, which meant it would be a break day for Logan. Although he liked the routine and technical nature of his job, even he needed a break from staring at his computer monitor every now and then. As he walked out of his room that morning, he was greeted by the smell of blueberry and chocolate pancakes. Logan figured it was Patton making the delicious treat, and smiled as he strolled into the kitchen. However, to his surprise, it was Roman standing over the stove.

When Logan arrived, Roman was flipping one of the pancakes, tossing it out of the pan in the most "extra" way possible. It looked like there was at least forty pancakes in all, far too many for any of them to reasonably be expected to eat. Logan simply stood in the entryway until Roman was done, turning to put the last three onto the stacks he'd made. When he turned around to put the last few on the towers he'd constructed, he almost dropped the pancakes and spoon he was holding in surprise. Roman only managed to make a sound in between a squeak and a normal question.

"Roman, while I do appreciate the fact that you made pancakes for everyone, I must ask: why did you make this excessive amount of them?" he questioned, gesturing to the unstable stacks of flour, sugar, butter, berries, and chocolate before him. Roman, still unable to make coherent sentences, shrugged and mumbled something about getting up early.

Logan was unconvinced, but dropped it in favor of another question he had, "Alright then. Well, do you have any plans for the day? Seeing as it is our day off." Roman regained his confidence in a flash and smiled back at Logan. "Yeah! I have plans for a Disney marathon! It'll last all day of course," he said enthusiastically, "and of course, I will be singing all the songs along the way!"

As Roman finished presenting his idea, he posed as if this was the best thing he'd ever dreamed up. However, Roman had decided to do this every weekend they'd been in the apartment, so it really wasn't a new concept.

Logan simply said, "Okay Roman, let me know when you start and I'll join you," picked up some of the blueberry pancakes, and left Roman alone with the remainder of them. Logan heard his dramatic roommate let out a relieved sigh as he retreated back to his room, so perhaps it was for the best that he leave Roman alone for a bit.

\--vv**••~~

A few hours had passed after Logan ate his pancakes, being brought out of his room shortly after by Patton and having a pleasant conversation over their shared breakfast. He was still considerably worried for Roman's mental state however. 

During breakfast, Logan had asked Patton to tell him what Roman was thinking about or if anything was bothering him, since getting up early to make an excessive number of pancakes wasn't quite normal behavior. Patton didn't tell him though, since it was personal and it wasn't Patton's place to say.

Logan begrudgingly accepted that and dropped the subject; it made sense that Patton wouldn't want to divulge people's personal information to others just because of his power. Now that he thought about it, the nature of Patton's power would have molded him into an exceptional keeper of secrets.

Now, Logan was sitting on the sectional in the main room, watching as Roman set up the first Disney movie of many. Roman had convinced Virgil to participate too, and the dark boy was now on the other side of the couch, berating Roman about how slow he was being. Although Roman's wings were cloaked, Logan could hear them ruffling in frustration at Virgil's constant criticism.

While they waited for the movie to start, Logan had turned on the news as background noise, partially to stop Virgil's constant nagging of Roman. Soon after, Patton came back from a walk and took his seat in between Logan and Virgil. Patton always left enough room for Roman to sit next to Virgil during these movie marathons, which Logan found illogical due to the odd relationship between the two, but Logan decided to not question Patton on it. He didn't particularly  _ mind _ Patton being next to him anyway.

Logan was snapped out of his thoughts by Roman suddenly stopping his fiddling with the DVD player and exclaiming, "Wait!! Logan turn it up for a sec! You've gotta hear this!"

Out of reflex, Logan immediately picked up the remote and turned up the volume, not giving himself time to question why Roman had suddenly become so interested in the news. When he processed what the announcer was saying though, he realized exactly why Roman was so captivated.

"This attacker, who revealed himself to be 'The Duke' to multiple witnesses, disappeared before the police could arrive, and his victim was taken in for questioning. So far, the victim has been uncooperative and rude to the police officers interrogating them," the newscaster said, "If anyone has any information on The Duke or his location, please contact the police immediately." The screen then flashed up a blurry cellphone photo someone had taken of "The Duke" and the local police office's number.

Logan switched the television off right as the broadcast concluded, but Roman had apparently heard enough. "This is AMAZING!! Well, not the whole 'person attacking other people' thing, but there's an active villain in our area! We should go and catch him! I-we can be actual, real live superheroes and save people from danger!!!" Roman exclaimed, whirling around to address his roommates on the couch. When he did however, his train of thought metaphorically skidded to a stop. Logan was utterly confused, Patton was visibly worried, and Virgil was showing obvious distaste for Roman's idea.

Virgil was the first to speak up. "Roman... what are you thinking??" he exclaimed, his normally quiet voice raising an octave, "You... you can't just go around and reveal your powers to everyone! And you definitely can't risk it on some random mugger!"

Patton was next to respond to Roman's crazy proposal. "That doesn't sound like a good idea Ro... Lo may be the one who can see the future, but I don't see that turning out good," he said, trying and failing to lighten the mood with a joke. Logan just nodded, agreeing silently with the others' protests. It would be quite reckless of Roman to reveal his powers to the world simply to stop a mugger.

After a moment of silence, Roman huffed dejectedly and hurried to his room yelling, "I'm gonna go flying. Be back in a bit." Logan could hear him open his window, and his beating wings just outside the window. It wasn't until they heard the window slam shut that Virgil spoke again. "Well, that didn't go well... He shouldn't be flying in the daytime either..." he worried, voice laced with regret. "I'm sure he'll be careful Virge.. He knows how to be safe because of you!" Patton tried comforting Virgil, hugging him softly.

Despite the slight unpleasant twinge in Logan, he knew Virgil needed Patton's comfort. Virgil and Roman had been very good friends since they'd met, and their bond had only grown in their weeks of living together. Virgil was simply overprotective of Roman, and Logan had been calculating how long it would take for Roman to get tired of it. That day had come, but Logan wasn't very proud of his accuracy this time.

\--vv**••~~

After a week since Roman's hero proposal, things still hadn't quite gone back to normal. Patton had eventually gotten Virgil to explain that he was just worried about Roman, and Roman had forgiven him immediately. Despite that, Roman still wanted to find and capture the mugger, but was now doing so in secret. Logan knew however, since his room shared a wall with Roman's, and every night he would hear the window open and close softly.

Logan didn't really understand Roman's thought process with this, as he'd definitely be caught eventually, but Logan decided to just let the others find out on their own. "Perhaps  _ this _ is why Patton never shares the thoughts he hears.." Logan thought to himself, and soon after hearing Roman's window click open and closed, he drifted off to sleep.

\--vv**••~~

There were six figures that Logan could see from where he stood. The four in front were his friends and himself, but they looked tired and defeated. Roman's wings weren't cloaked and all of them had scrapes and bruises all over.

Farther away, Logan could see two figures laughing maniacally, surrounded and being held up by a mass of featureless people. Logan ran through the crowd surrounding the two and immediately saw that one of the figures was the mugger from earlier. He only had a brief moment to be confused however, as the crowd pushed him out of the center as fast as he'd gotten in. 

As he was dragged away, he began drowning in red string. That same red string that he'd associated with the end of the world since he was a child.

This was the end for him...

\--vv**••~~

Logan awoke with a start, sweating all over. He usually couldn't differentiate premonitions from normal nightmares, but this was unmistakably a premonition.

He immediately sprung out of bed and grabbed his journal from his bedside table, jotting down everything he remembered from the premonition dream. 

His friend-roommates and himself fighting the villain from his first premonition, the mass of mindless people around the villain, and the mugger, The Duke, seemingly working with the first villain.

All of it seemed to mean that Logan had changed their future, in some way or another. The villain would still win, and seemed to be using the new small-town criminal as a sidekick, but Logan now saw his friends being able to fight back instead of immediately getting tied in the red string. The situation was far from ideal, but it was going to turn out better than it would have ten years ago.

Logan sighed and fell back in his bed after the furious bought of writing he'd had. His mind was exhausted, and he could feel the beginnings of a headache, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep now.

\--vv**••~~

_ Creeeeeeakkkk.. Ker-chunk!! Click! _

An indeterminate amount of time later that consisted of Logan laying and staring at his ceiling, he heard Roman's window snap closed again. Logan could hardly bring himself to care about the disturbance at this point, but he decided to get up and go confide in Patton instead of sitting around doing nothing for another hour. It was nearly 5:00 am, so Patton's alarm should be waking him soon anyway. 

He clumsily got up and put on his glasses and unicorn onesie to protect against the cold apartment. He wouldn't dare wear it in front of the others, but Patton had given it to Logan as a gift and Logan had grown a fondness for it. He walked across the hall and stopped in front of Patton's door, but hesitated before knocking.

Was he really going to wake up Patton for this? Was it so important that he needed to wake his friend at this early hour? And what would he say to his bubbly friend? Would he even need to explain anything, or would Patton's mind reading be able to see it all? It was fresh in his mind after all. And that brought up another issue: would he want to subject Patton to the horrid images in the dream? No, he couldn't do that to him... But how would he warn Patton about the future then?

"Logie, what's up? Besides the ceiling of course!" Patton interrupted his train of thought. Logan shook his head to clear it. He hadn't even noticed Patton opening his door, and although he was taking the boy's mind-reading into account more, today he'd neglected to think of the fact that to him, Logan was having a one-sided conversation right in front of his door.

"Alrighty, you seem like ya wanna talk 'bout somethin'. Com'on in," Patton spoke again, stepping aside to let Logan into his room and rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Thanks. And I do have something of the utmost importance to speak to you about," he replied, walking into Patton's room as Patton closed the door behind him. 

Patton's room was exactly what you'd expect from a man-child, but in the best way possible. He had a pastel pink carpet, white dresser and bookshelf full of childhood trinkets and books, a desk with papers strewn across it, a bright blue lamp on his matching bedside table, and his bed with pastel blue sheets and blankets was covered in stuffed animals.

When they got inside, Patton flopped onto his bed and patted beside him to invite Logan to sit too. As Logan did so, Patton scooted closer as he began to explain.

"So, to get to the point, I had a new premonition about an hour ago, and this premonition connected the world-ending villain to the mugger from a few weeks ago. This premonition had us all fighting them, but we seemed to be losing, though I didn't get to see who would win, since I woke up before this battle concluded. Although it's possible that we can win at this point, it's equally possible that we don't stand a chance against the pair," Logan hurriedly explained, trying to think as little as possible about the actual images from his dream.

Patton was oddly silent at this news, but put his hand on Logan's, encouraging him to continue. "And, well," Logan slowed down, trying to think through what he wanted to say, "I would quite appreciate your help with defending against this future. I know that alone, I won't be able to do anything, but I believe if we join forces, we have a chance of defeating The Duke and the other villain. So, would you like to help save the world with me?"

In his tired state, Logan didn't notice how that sounded until he'd actually said it. Patton didn't seem to notice however, or he was simply ignoring Logan's odd way of asking for help, and Logan was grateful for that. "Sure Logi! I'll do anything I can to help save y- the world!" Patton stumbled over his words, but quickly hugged Logan after finishing. Logan, despite the looming dark future and undefinable feeling in his chest, couldn't help but smile and hug Patton back.

As long as they stuck together, they would be able to defeat these world-destroying villains. At least, that's what Logan had to believe since, at least for now, they couldn't do much to stop the future from happening, good or bad.

In the present, he could just enjoy Patton's comforting embrace for a while. 


	9. Detector Mendacium

Virgil avoided the apartment as much as possible after his blow-up at Roman. Although he'd forgiven Roman and explained his worry over him, Virgil still didn't know how he should act around his best friend after a fight. Sure, they'd had arguments before, but they'd usually had their own houses to go back to and cool down.

So Virgil did the next best thing and kept away from the apartment as much as possible anytime he knew Roman would be there.

Today he was simply taking a walk in the city and enjoying the relatively quiet morning. The sky blanketed with grey clouds, and it was drizzling slightly, making his walk more serene than usual.

He soon decided to head to a coffee shop and wait out the rain. Although he liked the cooler weather and rain that fall brought, he wasn't too keen on soaking his new dark-purple hoodie. But before he could reach the out-of-the-way shop, he heard distressed yells coming from down the road.

Despite his better judgment, Virgil ran after the noise. Quickly, he identified that it was coming from an alleyway and he barreled into the entrance, almost slipping from the mud and rain on his shoes. Skidding to a halt, he saw two people: one, the mugger from tv earlier, and two, a very scared man who looked shockingly similar to Roman.

Without thinking he yelled, "Hey, stop it! Let him go!" The two people froze, and Virgil cautiously approached them. Just for good measure, he made himself look like a monster he'd seen during one of his 3am internet scrolling sessions.

When they finally turned their heads, the attacker yelped and disappeared into thin air, a lot like Virgil's own hallucinations, and the mugger's victim screamed, though it was cut off when the mugger disappeared. When Virgil dissipated his illusion, the mugger's victim spoke. "W-what are you...?" And Virgil, despite all his better judgement, said, "I'm a superhero."

Then, moments after realizing what he'd just done, he panicked and made a smoke illusion to cover his escape into the coffee shop. Hopefully his hood hid enough of his face that the person wouldn't be able to recognize him later.

God that was profoundly stupid.

\--vv**••~~

A few hours later, Virgil finally walked out of the coffee shop when the rain stopped, and immediately regretted it as he spotted a familiar face carrying two over-sized shopping bags and beaming at him from across the road.

"VIRGIL! Oh my gosh I haven't seen you at all today! Is this where you've been hiding?" Roman yelled as soon as he spotted Virgil, his loud voice easily projecting across the empty street. Roman ran over to Virgil, splashing through the newly-made puddles, but he could tell that Roman was trying to hide something; the theatrics and over-dramatized reaction were sure signs of that. And why would Roman be all the way on the other side of town anyway?

"Yeah, I know Ro. But why are you all the way out here? You have something to do in the abandoned part of town?" Roman froze and Virgil knew he'd already won. Despite Roman's good acting, he couldn't fool Virgil. After getting no response, Virgil prompted him. "Well Ro, spit it out. No use in trying to lie to me," he said, watching the dramatic man from under his purple hood.

"Well... I was just taking a walk! It was nice out and I thought it was a good idea!"

"Strike one. It was raining, and I know you don't like the rain. Try again."

"Ok fine! You got me! I was out flying — above the clouds of course — but I landed when the rain stopped so I could get some coffee, and that's when I saw you!"

"Strike two. That's a bit more believable, I have to admit, but why would you be out flying when it's cold and humid out? Also, you wouldn't know that the rain stopped if you were above the clouds. I'll always know when you're lying Ro, I swear to you. So just, tell me the truth this time."

Finally, Roman dropped the theatrics and his shoulders slumped. "You know me too well Virge..." he chuckled a bit. "Well, I should hope I know you after 20 years," Virgil said in reply, putting his hand on Roman's shoulder encouragingly, glad that his friend was finally ready to tell him the truth.

Luckily, that simple gesture seemed to bring back a lot of Roman's confidence, and he explained, "Well, I was out getting some new clothes, but when I saw the Duke attacking someone, and when I went down to save them, you were already there. I decided to let you handle it yourself, and afterwards I followed you to the coffee shop, then waited until you came out of the coffee shop. I knew you'd be mad that I was out lo- still dwelling on the Duke, but you know I can't pass up a chance to be the hero a damsel in distress needs." As soon as he finished, he let out a sigh and Virgil started to feel bad. "Ro... you know I wouldn't get mad at you for trying to be a hero," Virgil stated as reassuringly as he could.

"But-" Roman started, but Virgil cut him off.

"Roman. Listen to me. It's more that I get scared for ya, 'cus I see how many ways you could get yourself hurt. I told you that weeks ago, but I don't think I got it through your thick skull the first time. So, Ro, I'm not mad. The hero role fits you, actually. So," Virgil reached over and hugged Roman's neck, "don't stress yourself out over it."

"That's ironic coming from you, Panic! at the Everywhere," Roman laughed and hugged Virgil back.

"Oh shut up, Princey."

\--vv**••~~

On their way back to the apartment, Virgil was relieved that they were finally able to talk like normal friends again, but as Roman was talking about something-or-other, he couldn't keep his mind from drifting back to how harshly he'd criticized Roman's idea about stopping the Duke. And for the second time that day, Virgil made an impulsive decision he was sure he'd regret later. 

"Ro, if you decide you r'lly wanna stop this Duke guy, I'll be there to s'port ya. But I don't want you goin' t'do that all alone so I wanna help ya, so lemme know when you're goin' out t'stop this guy and I'll come. 'S long as it's in secr't at least.." When he finished, Virgil looked at Roman only to see him stifling laughter. "What?"

"You're doing the thing again!" Roman explained poorly, his laughter finally getting the better of him. When he finally got over his fit of giggles, he elaborated, "That shortening-your-words thing that you do when you're nervous! It's so cute that you're nervous about asking to go with me and be a superhero! So how could I possibly say no?"

Roman was beaming at Virgil and quickly surprised the dark emo with a hug. Then, seemingly, Roman's mind caught up with his body, and he pulled away again, a slight blush on his face. "Well, anyway, we should probably get back to the apartment! C'mon Virge, let's go!" Roman prompted, quickly turning to speed-walk back down the street. "Weirdo," Virgil thought fondly and ran to catch up with his dramatic friend.

\--vv**••~~

As the two walked through the door to the apartment, they were met with silence, which was weird because whenever Patton was home, he was always cleaning or preparing snacks for the others. But today, on a day Patton was supposed to be home, it was silent, putting Virgil on-edge. "Hey Patton! Logan! Me and Virge are home! Come out here, you've got to hear what he did to the Duke!" Roman announced to the empty apartment, and just like that, Logan was standing in front of them.

"Correction. 'Virgil and I' is the correct way to say that you've both arrived home. And also, be quiet; Patton is taking a nap in his room, and I was just reading a book. There's no need to disturb all of us when you arrive," Logan explained, annoyed, and sleep deprived Virgil noticed, "However, I'm quite intrigued about how you managed to find the Duke and do something to him, Virgil. I also have my own news regarding the Duke and your prior proposition about stopping him, Roman. We should sit down, and keep quiet, as I do not want to wake Patton again."

After Virgil sent Roman a look saying, "Logan put Patton to bed?" and he responded with a silent "Sure, why not?", the two turned back to Logan, nodded in-sync, and followed the tall man to the couch.

As soon as the three sat down, Logan began in a low voice, "It's time I come clean to all of you. I have just had a premonition, and we are all in danger from the attacks of the Duke, due to his connection with a far more nefarious villain. I have been aware of this threat since my childhood, due to my very first premonition, but this future has been fast approaching these last couple months. This was proven by my most recent premonition, showing us fighting a never-ending battle with this pair of evil-doers. Thus, I implore you to think carefully about this situation and possibly help me prevent the future I see."

After a moment of silence while the pair was processing that information, Virgil, who'd taken a seat on the coffee table opposite the couch, spoke up. "Wait, so you're saying that the Duke, a guy who's just going around mugging people and being an overall nuisance, is working with a villain that could destroy the world?"

"Yes, I suppose that is an adequate way to explain our current situation. Now, in this most recent premonition I had, we all looked very close in age as we do now, so this future must be rapidly approaching, and this revelation caused my concern about the future to heighten drastically," Logan explained, almost looking calm if not for the urgency and fear in his voice.

This time, Roman spoke before Virgil could. "Logan of course we'll help you! Do you know how long I've wanted to be a superhero?? And now we can actually do it and actually save the world!" Roman said, excitement taking over his voice and apparently making him forget to keep his voice down.

It was understandable he'd be excited though; Roman had gotten way into comics when he was little and since he had superpowers himself, he'd always wanted the opportunity to be like the comic book superheroes he read about. Virgil, on the other hand, wanted to stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, but he enjoyed Roman's enthusiasm all the same, even if he thought it was too dangerous for his friend to be a superhero.

But now it'd come full circle, and Virgil was faced with a decision yet again. "Virge, isn't this great?! You could be a full-fledged hero! I know it's not really your thing, but... Well what do you say!?" Roman asked dramatically, both he and Logan looking at Virgil expectantly for an answer. It was a lot of pressure to be the last one to agree to this plan, but he already knew his answer, for the good of everyone he actually cared about in this god-forsaken, messed up world.

"Well... how could I say no to saving the world?" Virgil finally answered, smirking a bit at Roman's utter elation at finally getting Virgil to agree to become a superhero with him.

Maybe in the past, Virgil would never had agreed to do something so reckless, even if it still had the world-altering stakes that this did. But now that he had the constant support of Patton, Logan, and of course, Roman to fall back on, he felt more secure in this decision than he'd ever felt, even though it was dangerous and maybe stupid. Or maybe it was some of Roman's confidence and self-assuredness was rubbing off on him.

"Alright! Let the heroes... assemble!!" Roman exclaimed, even louder than before, and flying a bit in the cramped main room. "Roman! Calm down! You'll get feathers all over the house!" Logan said, trying to sound annoyed, but he was smiling almost as much as Roman. Roman feigned being deeply offended, "Well I never! I do NOT shed feathers like some kind of dog!" "A bird and a dog are not comparable to each other! And all birds molt at least once a year, for your information!" Logan refuted, trying to get ahold of Roman's leg and pull him down, though Roman was avoiding him easily. Virgil just watched on, trying to hold back the laughter bubbling in his chest as the two argued.

Whatever the reason was for his reckless streak, Virgil found that he didn't really mind it. 


	10. Potens

Roman was flying around the apartment, making tight circles and keeping his legs and arms away from Logan's attempts to grab him. He was just so excited! He could actually be a superhero and save the world alongside his friends!

They could become the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the Avengers! Of course, he would have to come up with a more original name for their group, but Roman was sure he'd be able to come up with an idea soon! He would also have to come up with a good superhero name for himself as soon as possible!

And to think he'd just gotten supplies for his superhero costume that morning! It would take a while to finish, but Roman was sure he'd be able to complete his costume by the time he would need one!

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed onto his leg and he crashed face-first into the couch.

"Hey! How dare-" Roman yelled before his face was mushed into the cushions again. "You shouldn't be flying inside, and you still need to keep your voice down! Now, if you wish to get out your energy, I must request that you do so outside of this apartment. Or at least be a bit quieter about it," Logan scolded, finally letting go of Roman and going off into his room.

Roman didn't need to be told twice to go out and search for the Duke again. He jumped up from the couch and raced towards the apartment's door, sprinting out like his life depended on it. He heard Virgil calling out to him from the doorframe, but couldn't hear what he was saying since he was already on the flight of stairs leading to the building's roof.

From there, he took off and scanned the city below for any sign of the Duke or another evildoer. However, when his wings suddenly vanished from sight, Roman quickly realized what Virgil was yelling about: he'd left the safety of the apartment without his wings being cloaked. But if Virgil managed to do it now...

Roman quickly scanned the area below and easily spotted Virgil just below him, speed-walking to keep up with Roman's flight speed and acutely watching the flying man. When Roman spotted his guardian of a friend, he saluted and sped up, silently challenging JD-lightful to keep up.

When Roman got to a good resting place, the rooftop of an abandoned parking garage, he searched and found that Virgil had taken him up on his offer, though he wasn't doing so very well. All things considered though, Roman was impressed that Virgil could keep up with him this far. But as soon as his emo friend caught up, he took off flying again.

Scanning alleyways and other common areas that crimes could be committed, Roman didn't notice that bystanders were taking notice of the man flying through the air.

That is, until someone called out to him from below. "Hey! Guy in the sky, how're you doing that?!?"

Immediately, Roman stopped in his tracks and flew down to talk to this person. Maybe this could be his first fan? Confidently, Roman spoke in his theatre-voice, "Hello! I'm just a simple man with superhuman powers! And what may your name be, Mr. citizen?"

Roman was really playing up the dramatics, but he just really wanted to dazzle this possible fan. As he'd hoped, the citizen was awestruck, "I- I'm Thomas, just a normal person."

"Well! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Thomas!" Roman responded, reaching an open hand to Thomas. Thomas hesitantly took it and the two shook hands. And that is when Virgil caught up to Roman again.

"Hey! Why'd you do that!? I know you're excited, but geez..." Virgil huffed out, leaning on Roman's shoulder. Once he'd caught his breath, Virgil noticed Thomas. "And who's... oh no," Virgil trailed off and going white as a sheet. That set in motion Roman's drive for heroism and his protectiveness, especially since it was Virgil.

"Virge, what is it? What's wrong?" Roman asked, overly concerned about Virgil's sudden fear. Before Virgil could respond, Thomas walked over to stand in front of Virgil, "He's the guy who saved me from being attacked the other day! Virge was it?"

"Um, well, I guess, but I'm not th't special or an'thin'... you sh'dn't've r'member'd me anyways." Virgil rebutted unconvincingly. Quickly realizing that the source of Virge's fear was being recognized publicly, Roman stepped in front of his friend, "Oh! Well, it's been very nice meeting you, but we really must go now," Roman said definitively. Quickly picking up his anxious friend, he was about to fly away when he heard Thomas call up to them again. "Wait!! What're your names?" he yelled desperately.

Roman couldn't ignore the chance to tell the public his superhero name, one he'd thought of when he was 12 years old, so he halted his ascent and turned around. Hoping the sun was right behind him to backlight him. Dramatically, he replied, "I'm Showstopper, and this is my sidekick, Pretense!" and flew off above the clouds.

\--vv**••~~

"What was that?? Ro I know you want to be a hero but you didn't have to drag me into the public so early!!!" Virgil chewed Roman out once they got to the sheltered rooftop of their apartment. "In my defense, you were the one who exposed yourself to Thomas. And really, if you're a superhero with a secret identity, you don't have to worry about your regular life being affected all that much!"

"But Ro you don't... You don't get it!" Virgil said, panicked and unintentionally using his power to make his voice bone-chilling. Virgil had never, ever, used his power against Roman. Not once in their 20 years of being friends had he ever done that.

Knowing Virgil was serious and that Roman couldn't calm his overly worried friend normally, Roman decided to do something that he'd been thinking of for a few weeks now. "Alright Virge, I know you're scared about the public turning us all in a scientific guinea pigs- even though I know that the public already loves you- but I will try to quell your worries about this with this," Roman said, kneeling down on the ground on one knee.

"Wow, shouldn't you buy me dinner first, hot-shot?" Virgil said jokingly, the hallucination gone as quickly as it'd appeared. Roman jolted a bit at his comment and laughed, happy that Virgil had snapped out of his panic, and dug out some chalk from his pocket.

"Oh Virge, I would most certainly buy you a thousand dinners before I did something like that! No, no, I'm going to do something so I can be sure you and everyone else will be protected." Virgil just nodded and stepped back to allow Roman some more space. Luckily, the smaller looked past the fact that Roman was being over-dramatic again, since he was hiding the fact that he really would like to date and marry Virgil.

With the extra space, he got right to work. He started with a huge circle that would have enough room for him to draw a chimera, a mythical animal with the head of a lion and a goat, and a snake for a tail. Drawing as big as he could, Roman couldn't help but to add swirly details on his chalk artwork, making it as intricate as possible. Then, once he was done, he flew up to admire his work. He had to get this perfect, or else the summoning wouldn't work properly, so he'd been practicing this drawing for about a month, not to mention his research on how to tame and befriend this chimera once he summoned it. 

Once he deemed his drawing to be complete, Roman landed back on the rooftop, made sure that Virgil was nowhere near the summoning circle as he didn't want the man to be hurt by the summon, and placed his palm onto the hard rooftop and wishing to summon the chimera that he'd drawn. After a few moments, the chalk on the rooftop began to glow brightly and a chimera began to form from the drawing on the roof.

As he stood back and watched the drawing turn into a physical chimera, Roman prepared himself to bargain with her as soon as she was fully formed. He knew that the chimera would be hard to bargain with, and she would assuredly attack him at the drop of a hat, but his experience with taming dangerous and hostile creatures would surely help with that.

Finally, the chimera was fully formed, and Roman cautiously approached her as she looked around. Roman made sure his hands were visible and non-threatening, showing his lack of a weapon. Surprisingly, he got close to her without issue, so he began to speak to her lion head soothingly. "I'm terribly sorry for the sudden summoning. I am Roman, and I don't want to hurt you; I simply would like to befriend you."

The goat head leaned in, seemingly mesmerized by his soft, unafraid tone, though the snake head was still poised to strike. Slowly, he held out his hand, and the lion head touched her nose to it. At this, Roman smiled brightly, and started to pet the beast's muzzle. Soon, the goat head started to get jealous, and leaned down to Roman's hand, hoping to be pet as well. The snake head even looked over at the her two other heads and slithered closer to see what the other two were fussing over.

"Hey, chimera, can you let the snake part of you get closer to me?" The heads looked at each other, surprisingly understanding Roman's point to the snake then himself. They nodded to each other and moved so the snake head could get a better look at Roman, peering at him with unblinking eyes that stared into Roman's very soul. After a moment of studying him, the snake suddenly wrapped up Roman's arm, scaring Roman a lot. The snake head, from his research, was venomous and could breathe fire, easily making it the most dangerous of the three. Luckily, the snake let go as Roman flinched, and Roman could swear he saw amusement in her eyes.

"Well, looks like they all like ya Ro, but what was the point of this again?" Virgil said, catching Roman off-guard once again that day. "Virgil! You shouldn't surprise me like that! But yes, I guess I should get to the point," Roman turned to the chimera again, "Well, first I should name you..." he said, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Maybe something like... Takala?" Virgil chimed in, and a light bulb went off in Roman's mind. "Takala is perfect!!! Three parts, three heads, and it sounds amazing!" he exclaimed, hugging Virgil quickly and turning back to the summon, "Do you like it, Takala?" The summon's lion head purred in agreement, and she walked over to Virgil, sitting beside him contentedly as he cautiously stroked her mane.

"She seems to really like you! Maybe it's because you named her?" Roman exclaimed, only slightly surprised at how calm and friendly she was with Virgil, though happy all the same. "Well, she's two-thirds animals that I like; cat and snake. Maybe she gets that and likes me better," he teased, still petting Takala. Roman laughed, "Maybe.." he said.

What he didn't tell Virgil was that some of his feelings towards people were transferred to his summons when he summoned them, so it was natural that Takala would take an immediate liking to Virgil. Roman decided to not mention that part though.

"Well, back to the reason I summoned her," Roman started, snapping himself out of his thoughts, "Takala, will you please protect my friends if they are in danger of being hurt, or they have been hurt. This is all I ask of you, and I would hope that you're capable of carrying out this task." Roman was going into "prince mode" once again, but Virgil luckily didn't comment on it.

Takala considered his orders with herself, eventually coming to an agreement. All three heads looked at Roman and nodded before turning back to Virgil. He resumed his petting, and the snake head even wrapped itself around Virgil's neck, nuzzling into his jacket.

\--vv**••~~

After a bit of Takala and Virgil bonding and Roman trying to be able to pet her too, though it wasn't going very well, Virgil suggested that they should go inside and tell Logan and Patton what had happened.

"Oh yes! That would be important information to pass on, wouldn't it be? Yes we should get inside and inform them of the current state of affairs!"

Maybe it was less of a "prince mode" and more of a "Logan mode" that he lapsed into. Roman found it very hard to believe that Virgil hadn't noticed his pseudo-nervous behavior, but he hadn't commented on it thus far, much to Roman's relief. He wasn't really ready to attempt lying to Mister I-can-always-tell-when-you're-being-dishonest.

Maybe one day, but not today.

"You coming?" Virgil called to him from the doorway. "Oh! Yes I'm coming! Takala, you should go back to where you came from," Roman said, gesturing for Takala to let him touch her. The goat head huffed, but the summon reluctantly allowed Roman to touch her flank. As soon as she did this, Roman "wished her away", and she was gone.

"Alright, let's go," Roman called back to Virgil and the two walked back into the apartment building. 


	11. Silentium

Patton awoke to yelling and loud thoughts. Even though they were muffled by his door, Patton was awoken by his roommates' thoughts all the same. He drowsily picked up his glasses and looked at his alarm clock. 12:15!? He'd slept far later than he thought he would, even with Logan waking him up earlier than usual.

Opening his door and peeking out revealed Roman's winged form retreating out the door, followed by frantic yelling from Virgil about his wings. Then, faster than Patton could go out and help his dark strange son calm down, said "son" was sprinting out the door after Roman thinking  _ that idiot! _

Once they were gone, Logan closed the door behind them.  _ Virgil really should remember to close the door behind him. Well, I suppose it's not an issue when I'm at home... _

Seeing the opportunity to surprise Logan, Patton snuck out of his bedroom, but the door creaked loudly as he opened it, alerting Logan to his presence. "Oh hello Patton, good afternoon," the taller said.  _ Oh no Roman must've woken him up, that idiot! I told him to keep it down! I should've helped Patton to sleep in more, especially after I woke him up early.. idiot idiot idiot. _

Patton was sad that Logan was talking to himself like that, especially since he knew that Logan was definitely not an idiot. The least he could do was assure him that he wasn't the cause of Patton waking up. "G'afternoon Logie! I had a great night's rest, so thanks for keeping it quiet for me!" he said with a smile, walking over to his friend.

To help Logan forget about his powers in the moment, Patton chose not to address his thoughts directly. It did feel weird to do that with Logan though, since thoughts and speech were one-in-the-same to him. But Patton would do whatever he could to help out his roommate and friend.

"That's good Patton, I'm glad you got sufficient rest, especially considering I was the one to wake you up before," Logan smiled back at Patton, but it was strained. "Although you just woke up, I believe that it's best we go out as soon as possible so we can find the villains in my premonition. It's coming soon; I can tell," he continued, his normal poker-face breaking down.

_ We have to prevent this. _

Logan was completely serious, but his thoughts weren't making any sense.

_ I have to protect them. _

They were really fragmented, and it was worrying Patton. A lot.

_ I won't allow this to happen. _

"Lo! C'mon, your thoughts are scaring me!" Patton tried to snap him out of whatever spiral he was going down.

_ Not now. Not ever. _

"Logan! Please, talk to me! I can help you deal with this!" Patton grasped Logan's arm desperately, getting more and more panicked by each new thought he heard.

_ No no no no no I can't drag Patton into this! Stop stop stop! _

Patton's grip loosened. That was the first time Logan had tried to silence his thoughts from Patton in a long time, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't hurt. He wanted to help, but he couldn't make Logan let him in. Maybe if he agreed to Logan's plan he would be able to help his friend.

"Alright, why not we go out for a walk and see if we can find the two villains?" Patton suggested. Logan paused and nodded, silently going to his room to put on his jacket and hat. Patton sighed and went to his own room, putting on a light blue hoodie with a cute cat on the front. When he was finished, he walked back out to find Logan pacing in front of the door.

"Alrighty! Let's go!" Patton greeted Logan, trying to keep up his cheerful persona in spite of his overwhelming worry for his tall friend. He didn't want to pile more onto Logan for him to deal with, and Patton could handle himself anyways. In response, Logan just nodded again and opened the door for Patton. 

As they walked down the apartment complex's stairs, Patton kept trying to make conversation, but Logan was staying silent and only nodding along to what Patton was saying. And for once, Logan's mind was eerily blank. Since Patton had met him, Logan had always had something going on in his head, and it comforted Patton to know that Logan wasn't just ignoring him when he was being silent. But now, Logan's mind was completely blank and it was scaring Patton.

Patton gave up trying to talk with Logan and simply walked by his side. Logan was seemingly content to just follow and go wherever Patton wanted. Patton couldn't deny that part of him enjoyed this; walking along the deserted sidewalk with Logan at his side. But he also couldn't really enjoy it while Logan was like this. He wanted Logan to enjoy his company as much as Patton enjoyed Logan's, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Logan's silent treatment continued as Patton led them to a dog park, one of his favorite places to visit after going around the city to find a job. Nothing seemed to suit him, but his disappointment over that was gone as soon as he walked through the park's gate. Being greeted by 10 fluffy doggos and being able to play with them cheered him up without fail.

Maybe it would help Logan too. Patton hoped it would.

They walked through the gates and the dogs inside ran up to greet the two newcomers.

" Hello! Hello! You're back! It's our friend again! And he brought a new friend!! " the leader, Rufus, yipped excitedly, the other dogs following suit. The dogs jumped up to lick him and Logan, and Patton started greeting them too as he halfheartedly pushed them off of him.

" Did you finally decide to live here and stay forever?! " Sally, a clingy chihuahua barked. "Oh, no. I'm sorry Sally, I have to stay in my own house," Patton apologized to the small dog, kneeling down to scratch her muzzle. "And if I left, my new friends would be sad and miss me. But speaking of new friends... this is Logan!" Patton announced to the dogs that had gathered around him.

" Well any friend of Patton's is a friend of ours, right? " Rufus stood up, walking over to Patton and Logan. " Yeah! He's a part of our pack now! " Sally and a few others yipped. " Yay!!! " the dogs erupted in cheers of barks and howls. It might've looked strange to onlookers, but Patton had made friends with the regulars, both human and animal, and the owners had dubbed him "the dog whisperer." They didn't know how literal that nickname was.

After the dogs had calmed down, they dispersed and gathered around Logan to say "hi" to him too. Patton looked to Logan to see his reaction to the doggos, but his mood was once again deflated as he saw Logan hardly reacting to the dogs' ecstatic greeting. What else could he do to help Logan?

...Could he do anything to help..? 

\--vv**••~~ 

Patton and Logan left the dog park, and Patton was losing hope. He still hadn't heard anything from Logan, thoughts or otherwise, and it was beginning to look like he wouldn't hear anything ever again. That was a very scary thought to Patton, but he wasn't about to give up on helping his friend now.

"Hey why not we go get something to drink? Ro told me 'bout this really good place and I wanted ta bring ya there with me. Does that sound good?" Patton suggested, looking up at Logan's expression. Usually, he at least cringed a bit when Patton shortened his words like that, but now his stoic friend didn't even seem to notice.

After a minute without any kind of answer, he tapped Logan on the shoulder and he flinched a bit before looking over at Patton. "I was wondering if you'd like to go get coffee with me at a place Ro suggested?" Patton explained. It sounded more like a question, but Logan still nodded and waited for Patton to lead the way there.

As the pair walked down the sidewalk to the coffee shop, Patton was checking to make sure that the alleys around them were empty (for safety's sake). But suddenly, Patton was bombarded by someone thinking at lightning speed, right behind Logan.

_ Oooh~! I found the guy Master's been wanting! And a friend who probably has powers too! Boss'll be so happy when I get them! And then I'll get a better job than just knocking people out!! Just have to.. capture him!!! Time for you to shine, my Morning Star! _

Patton hardly had time to react when he heard shuffling behind him and saw "The Duke" holding a mace above his head in the corner of his eye, readying a strike on him. Patton only got to shout a warning; "LOGAN!!! LOOK OUT!"


	12. Ira Et Dolore Succensus

Logan heard Patton yelp, "LOGAN!!! LOOK OUT!" and before he knew it he had turned around and grabbed a person by the collar and mind. Logan noticed that it was The Duke in his clutches, lifeless eyes showing his mind control worked.

"Wait... Logan, what'd you just do to The Duke?" Patton asked, worry crossing his features, though Logan wasn't sure if it was for him or of him. "I used my mind control to render The Duke immobile," he responded matter-of-factly. He would  not let anyone hurt Patton under any circumstance, even if he had to use his mind control to do so.

Patton started shrinking away from him. "But... but I thought you said you would never use your mind control on anyone.."

Right... sh*t.

"Logan!!! What the hell did you do!?" he thought frantically. This wasn't meant to happen! He was supposed to protect Patton, how could he do that if Patton was scared of him!?

"I was trying to protect you, Patton." He tried to keep his fear out of his voice, but The Duke had gained the expression of fear that Logan was trying to hide.

Logan had to get his feelings under control before The Duke betrayed all the emotions he was drowning in. "Let's go," Logan said, catching Patton's hand and commanding The Duke to follow them back to the apartment.

\--vv**••~~

Logan stormed through the door with Patton and The Duke in tow and saw that Roman and Virgil were also home. Perfect, more people to witness his emotional outburst..

Before either of his roommates could ask what was happening, Logan strode over to the vacant couch. "Duke, sit," Logan commanded, and The Duke sat down obediently (on the floor). "Ugh, fine. I suppose this will do," he sighed, taking out his pocket notebook and a pencil.

"Logan... what in the  _ heck _ are you doing!?" Roman finally exclaimed. Logan looked over and saw Roman and Virgil as far away from him as possible. "I need to find out who The Duke works for so we can preemptively stop these villains," he explained and looked back at Patton, "...and I need you to read his mind to find where their base is."

"W-what? I- I can't do that!" Patton exclaimed, horrified, "That's a complete breach of privacy! I know he's a villain, but to get that information I'd have to go pretty far into his memory, which I will  not do!" Then Roman and Virgil joined in, "Yeah, what's gotten into you, Logan? You of all people should know Patton would never do that!" "That's not... you can't do that to people, Logan. Not to The Duke and not to Pat.."

Logan was stunned. This was their chance, a perfect opportunity to catch the world-destroying villains and stop their plans before they could hurt anyone. But Patton wasn't willing to use his power to do this? Why? This man is threatening the world. He threatened Patton. Why would Patton give this... this  _ vile _ human any ounce of respect?

Logan (figuratively) exploded, all his rage and fear and confusion rushing to the surface.

"Patton!!! This could be our only chance to stop these villains! Have you forgotten their plan to enslave humanity?! Have you forgotten that they threaten our safety?! Have you forgotten how they tried to hurt you?!?! Why are you giving this scum respect?! He will destroy us unless you do something!!!" he yelled, bottled up emotions shattering on the ground. In a way, Logan was relieved to finally get that off his chest, but then he saw Patton.

"I'm- I'm sorry... I c-can't do that..." his best friend whimpered, tears streaming down his face. The sight slammed Logan's heart to the ground as he realized how  he made Patton cry. Before Logan could form any sort of apology, Patton escaped to his room. Stunned, Logan looked to Roman and Virgil for help, but Virgil just shot him a dirty look before he and Roman followed Patton to his room.

"I messed that up.. badly.." he muttered to himself, trying to keep his composure. Then, pushing away his unwanted sadness and guilt, Logan started interrogating The Duke as best he could.

\--vv**••~~

Two hours later, Logan had finished questioning The Duke and he had gotten lots of useful information. Logan now knew the general location of their base, that The Duke can teleport at will, that he works for another villain called "The Puppet Master," and that The Puppet Master uses The Duke to tie strings on people that he uses to control them.

However, despite how useful his interrogation proved to be, Logan couldn't feel proud of himself. All he could think about was Patton's face and how  _ he _ made Patton cry. As Logan was about to release his control on The Duke, he realized that he may not be that different than The Puppet Master.

"Alright, you have to stop this, Logan..." he muttered to himself. He just had to hide away and let go of The Duke's mind.

Quickly crouching behind a dumpster, Logan allowed his metaphorical grip on The Duke's mind to loosen, then let go completely. As soon as The Duke was back in control, he blinked, took in his surroundings, and teleported away with a snap of his fingers.

Logan let out a sigh of relief. Holding onto one's mind was quite draining, and his emotional turmoil didn't help. Now all he had to do was go back to the apartment and try to patch things up with Patton.

He just wasn't sure if his roommate would forgive him...

By the time Logan got back to their apartment, it was completely empty. Looking down the hall, all of his roommates' doors were closed and Patton had a handmade "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging on his door handle.

"It looks as if Patton wouldn't want to see me... Ok then. I guess I'll give him the space he wants..." Logan thought, heading into his room and locking the door. After everything that had happened that day, Logan was exhausted and fell asleep right away.

\--vv**••~~

In his dream, Logan was watching the apartment from afar, seeing both his and Patton's doors closed. He went to Patton's door and tried to open it, but it didn't budge. He tried his own door, which opened just a smidgen. Logan saw himself, hunched over his notes with all but his desk lamp turned off.

Then he was forced out of his room, made to watch from the outside, and time sped up around him.

He watched as he emerged from his room, made breakfast, read a book, and went back into his room. Patton's door was closed.

He watched as he ate dinner with Roman and Virgil, laughing and smiling. Patton's door was closed.

He watched as he went out for a work call, only coming back in the late evening. Patton's door was closed.

He watched as he vacuumed the apartment, everyone's doors ajar so he could vacuum inside. Patton's door was closed.

He watched as Roman knocked on Patton's door to ask him if he wanted to go out to the store with him. Patton's door was closed.

He watched as Virgil knocked on Patton's door to ask him if he wanted dinner. Patton's door was closed.

He watched as he knocked on Patton's door, asking him to come out and talk to him.

Patton's door was closed.

\--vv**••~~

Logan awoke with a start, immediately noticing that he had a pounding headache. "Was that... a premonition? Or was it simply a stress-induced nightmare?" he thought, rubbing his temples. "Oh no... what if that  _ was _ a premonition!? I have to stop this!"

Logan jumped out of bed, adrenaline rushing through his veins as he slammed open his door and ran over to Patton's door. At this point, he didn't care if it was late or if Patton was asleep; he had to keep this future from happening! "Patton! Patton, please, let me in! I have to talk to you! I'm so, undeniably sorry for how I acted," Logan cried, pounding on his roommate's door.

But Patton's door was closed.

"Please, Patton, open your door! Please, let me in... please don't close yourself off from us..." Logan slid down the door, falling to his knees, feeling completely hopeless.

But Patton's door was......


	13. Satisfacimus

Patton slid down the inside of his door. He'd put out a "Do Not Disturb" sign after Roman and Virgil left; all he wanted to do right now was lie down on his floor and feel sorry for himself. He knew that he couldn't stay mad at Logan forever, but maybe just a bit of pettiness was accounted for on his part. Why was he even crying? He honestly didn't know... Maybe it was just all his emotions from the past few days bursting out all at once. That wouldn't be new... 

After what seemed like an eternity of being the human equivalent of a wet pile of laundry, Patton heard the door open and confident footsteps approach his door. Not daring to breathe, in case Logan could hear him inside, Patton froze and listened carefully to his roommate's thoughts. Sometimes they were like a lifeline to him, like listening to someone talking to get out of your own head, but it wasn't like that this time. 

_ It looks as if Patton wouldn't want to see me... Ok then. I guess I'll give him the space he wants... _

Logan's thoughts sounded just as defeated as his own... It took all of Patton's energy to not go running out to comfort his friend, but a part of him wanted to prove a point, so he stayed right where he was. 

He heard a sigh from outside his door followed by footsteps to Logan's door, but Patton only moved when he was sure Logan was in his room. He heard Logan's door close softly and, slowly, Patton got up and trudged to his bed to try and sleep. 

Sleep didn't come for him. Instead, he was forced to listen to Logan tossing and turning in his bed, clearly having a nightmare. Patton wanted nothing more than to go and comfort him, but he still had that unwanted part of him telling him that Logan deserves to suffer. It was clearly untrue; Logan, nor anyone else, ever deserved to be hurt. But Patton stayed where he was, desperately trying to block out the sounds in the apartment. Luckily, he was able to fall asleep with his pillow clenched over his head. 

\--vv**••~~ 

Patton was awoken once again by a frantic banging on his door. 

"Patton! Patton, please, let me in! I have to talk to you! I'm so, undeniably sorry for how I acted... Please, Patton, open your door! Please, let me in... please don't close yourself off from us..." Logan cried, the fear and regret in his voice breaking Patton's heart.  _ I can't let this happen... he has to open the door... ...Is this how they felt, all those years ago..?  _ Patton couldn't take it anymore! Even if he was mad, or sad, or confused, or whatever he was feeling right now, Logan needed him right now and Patton didn't want to be the one to leave him when he needed him the most. 

Slowly, Patton got up and opened his door, careful not to let Logan fall if he was leaning against it. 

"...Logan? What is it...?" Patton asked quietly, and Logan's face lit up at the sight of him. Patton could see tears brimming on his eyes, and they started to fall when he started talking again. "Patton! You have no idea how relieving it is to see you!" he cried out, hugging Patton as tight as he could. Patton laughed and hugged him back. "I'm glad to see you too, Logie, but it's only been half a day, y'know." Logan let go of the hug, much to Patton's dismay, and sighed, "I guess I have a lot to explain..." Patton just pat him on the back as comfortingly as possible, "Alright, come in and you can explain it to me." 

Patton stepped aside for Logan to come in, and after a moment of hesitation he stepped into the room. Patton closed the door behind them and sat on his bed, motioning for Logan to sit next to him. "So... what happened in your dream?" he asked when Logan sat down. He looked surprised for a second before speaking, "Wh- oh right, mind reading. Well, I saw this exact situation, except you didn't leave your room for days on end, and I was unsure if this dream was a premonition or not. However, whatever the case, I had to make sure it didn't come to fruition, so I came to check on you." 

_ I don’t know how I’d live with myself if I never saw you again... I don’t think I could…  _ Logan thought with such a heart-wrenching look of sadness that Patton couldn't help but engulf him in a hug. "It's ok Logie; I couldn't stay mad at you for that long. So don't worry; I'd never leave you like that," he said reassuringly, burying his face in Logan's neck. 

Logan smelled like lavender and was pretty warm, which was really calming.  _ Patton smells a lot like vanilla... _ Logan thought, and Patton couldn't keep himself from giggling. "What is it, Patton?" Logan pulled away, confused. "Y'know Logie, you smell like lavender," he said softly, smirking a bit. "O-oh, alright," he said, clearly flustered by the assertion. 

Then a thought entered his mind and he just had to ask. "Wait, do you like me Logie?" Logan replied without hesitation, "I do like you, Patton. If I did not, would I have been your friend for this long?" Patton shook his head, "No Logie, I know that. I mean do ya like me romantically? I mean, if you don't that's fine; I just thought of it and realized I should ask." That, Logan did have to think about, thoughts rushing through his head so fast that Patton could barely keep up. 

_ Do I like Patton romantically? What does that constitute? What would happen if I say yes? What if I say no? Does he like me romantically, or is he just asking for my sake so I won't be hurt when he rejects me? If it's the former, what would happen? Would we begin dating? Would he reject me? Would I be heartbroken if he did reject me? Would Patton even do that, or would he go along with it just to make me happy? How do I really feel about him? _

By the time Logan had come up with an answer, Patton already knew what he was going to say. "My sincerest apologies, Patton, but I'm not quite sure about the nature of my feelings towards you. I highly value our friendship, and you are an amazing person to be around, but I have never thought about the possibility of either of us holding in romantic feelings towards the other. So, in order to give you a proper answer, I will have to think about the issue some more and come back to you at a later date. I hope you are alright with that." 

Patton nodded, knowing that was the most honest answer Logan could've given him. "That's alright Logie. I'll wait as long as you need to come up with an answer and we can go from there, alright?" "Alright. Thank you Patton. I could truly never live without you," Logan replied, hugging Patton again. "I know I couldn't either..." 


	14. Bonum Distraction

As soon as Logan left and Patton had calmed down enough to rest, Roman and Virgil decided it would be better for them to leave for a bit. As the pair walked down the hall leading downstairs, Roman watched Virgil carefully. He had a bit of a frown still, which wasn't surprising, but he was wringing his hands together so forcefully Roman was afraid he'd dislocate a finger. "Hey Virge, do you wanna go get coffee from that place we keep trying to go to?" he asked. Over the years, Roman had learned that a surefire way to help Virgil's anxiety was get him out and doing something he enjoyed. All Virgil had to do was give him a nod and they were off.

Roman decided flying wasn't the best idea right now since it made Virgil very anxious, but it was taking forever to get to the coffee shop just walking! Roman let out a little huff of annoyance at the thought, but Virgil was too far off in his thoughts to acknowledge it. 

By the time they got to the coffee shop, Roman was just wanting to go home again; he wasn't used to walking everywhere, but he could tell Virgil still needed time away from the stress so they went in and ordered drinks. "Hey Roman?" Virgil started suddenly, breaking the silence as they waited for their coffee. "Yes Virgil, what is it?" Virgil looked more nervous than usual, and that immediately made Roman more apprehensive about what his friend was thinking about. "Ya'know how we hung out all th' time as kids? Why don' we do that anymore?" 

Oh, that wasn't what he was expecting. "Hmm... I'm not sure..." Roman said. Thinking back, and the last time they really "hung out" for the day, with just the two of them, was months ago. 

Oh! That gave Roman the best idea! "Hey, why not we go and do that again! We can even visit our old houses! It'll be great!!" Roman exclaimed excitedly. This is perfect! It would help distract Virgil from his anxiety and Roman would get to talk to Virgil even more! Maybe he could even... no, that should come later. 

Virgil finally broke Roman from his train of thought, "That actu'lly seems like fun. Lead the way, Ramen-boy." Roman smirked, holding out his hand for Virgil to take, "I'm definitely using that one. I  _ am  _ as straight as ramen, after all." Virgil just shook his head jokingly and took Roman's hand. 

As soon as the pair was outside, Roman knelt down so Virgil could climb on his back, and Virgil obliged, careful to not step on Roman's wings. "Prepare for liftoff, my dark prince," Roman exclaimed, and without waiting for Virgil's response, sprung up into the air and took off as fast as he could fly. He always loved flying, and now that he was "out" as a superhero, he could do it whenever he wanted to! Feeling the absolute euphoria of flight, Roman sped up above the clouds and began to glide up, down, up, down, up- "Whoa Roman, whoa!" Virgil called out from his back, breaking Roman's focus for a moment as he remembered Virgil on his back. "Hey! I'm no horse!" Roman joked back at him, but still slowed down a bit. 

"Well, where would you like to go most, Panic! at the Everywhere?" Virgil was quiet for a bit, probably thinking of where to go, and responded, "What about our old meeting spot?" Roman smiled, knowing exactly where Virgil was talking about. "Your wish is my command," he responded, winking back at Virgil as he veered left, away from the city. 

After a while of feeling the wind rushing through his hair as he flew, Roman landed in a small grotto near a brick orphanage and across the street from an old, abandoned house. When Virgil got off, he immediately started walking around the perimeter of the grotto, taking it all in. Roman was just admiring Virgil; the way that his eyes and hair seemed to light up in the low light of the forest and the way that he was obviously giddy to be back here, but tried to hide it with his usual attitude. Roman had always believed in the saying, "one's eyes are the windows to the soul," so he always studied people’s eyes when he met them. Virgil's eyes were like nothing he'd ever seen; they were a stunning dark brown with speckles of sparkling gold and forest green. Virgil's eyes would always give away his true feelings, and that just made Roman love him more. 

After Virgil made his way around the grotto, he sat down in the overgrown grass and Roman sat beside him, still not taking his eyes off of Virgil. "So My Chemically Imbalanced Romance, is there a specific reason you wanted to come back here?" Roman asked, though he had an idea already. "It's been my favorite place in the city since we found it. It just has so many good memories attached to it, and it's nice and quiet. Way better than the city, in my opinion. Not that I hate the city... This place is just... calmer. Happier. Y'know?" Virgil answered, obviously having thought about it a lot. "I definitely get that," he responded. Roman lied down in the soft grass, and Virgil followed.

When he and Virgil got married and could get a house, Roman would make sure it was close to here. They would still live close to Logan and Patton, but their house would be far enough from the city so Virgil could enjoy the quietness of the forest every day. Ok, maybe he was getting ahead of himself. But if he was honest, he really did see him and Virgil married one day. It may be far in the future, but Roman truly believed it would happen eventually. He really wanted it to, anyway. 

The two lied like that for what felt like hours, enjoying each other's company and the rustling of leaves in the wind. Then, like a flash of lightning, Roman came up with another idea and jolted up to tell Virgil. "Hey, why don't we go around to all the places we liked when we were little and that can be our fun day together? That would be fun, right?" 

"Sure," Virgil responded, and the plan was set. Roman would do everything in his power to make this the best day Virgil had ever had. 


End file.
